Technology and R&D

Sekisui House-W is testing a pilot project consisting of a residential PV system, a small-sized electrolyzer, hydrogen-absorbing alloy tanks, and a fuel cell. The company said the hydrogen storage alloys used in the project have higher energy density than battery storage.

After four years of development, French-Italian carmaker Stellantis, French battery company Saft, and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) have unveiled the Intelligent Battery Integrated System (IBIS), which integrates the electric charger and inverter functions. It can be used in automotive and stationary storage applications.

Scientists in Korea have proposed to use an algorithm that simulates the behavior of foraging bees to shape a new grid-forming inverter design. The approach is designed for both grid-connected and islanded inverters.

NREL researchers used acoustically spalled gallium arsenide substrate that reportedly reduces electrical shunting, resulting in potentially lower manufacturing costs. The cell achieved an open-circuit voltage of 1.061 V, a short-circuit current density of 29.9 mA/cm2, and a fill factor of 84.9%.

Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have used aluminum foil-based negative electrodes with engineered microstructures in an all-solid-state lithium-ion cell configuration. They have reported hundreds of stable cycles with practically relevant areal capacities at high current densities.

Sarcos Robotics and Terabase Energy recently announced key business developments, underscoring how installation robots are increasingly moving from test centers to the field.

Researchers in Spain have studied the impact of hydrogen production and storage technologies in risk management for energy communities with internal price-tariff systems. They found that the optimal involvement in futures markets and spot markets will depend on a community’s risk aversion and self-sufficiency.

The two companies are targeting to reach an annual production capacity of 20 GW by the end of 2025. Manufacturing activities are scheduled to begin in the second quarter of next year.

US researchers have developed new integrated halide perovskite photoelectrochemical cells, while Fortescue Future Industries has revealed plans to acquire a hydrogen project from Nikola in Arizona.

Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics (IAF) has developed an ultra-efficient circuit topology for voltage converters with an electrical efficiency of 99.74%. The tech could considerably raise the coefficient of performance for electrocaloric heat pumps and the scientists are now considering components based on semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) for higher power density and efficiency.