Technology and R&D

Researchers from Australia’s Monash University have created a new generation of lithium-sulfur batteries to provide a cheaper, cleaner and faster-charging energy storage solution that outlasts lithium-ion alternatives and is rechargeable hundreds of times without failing.

Developed by Swedish manufacturer Polestar, the hard-top convertible incorporates a drone that can be launched from its dock behind the rear seats whilst driving to capture footage of the journey. In other news, Sony and Honda tie-up to make electric vehicles, Ford splits gas-powered and EV businesses, Stellantis unveils a strategic plan to reach net-zero by 2038, and Tesla offers free supercharging near Ukraine. Panasonic has also unveiled plans for two new production facilities for its large-format cylindrical battery cells.

Mitrex solar facades are being installed on a 7000 square feet area on a building in Canada, producing an estimated 90,000 kWh of power annually.

In other news, Belgian company Tree Energy Solutions (TES) is accelerating plans to develop the German port of Wilhelmshaven into a “world-scale” hub for importing green gas, and German engineering company MAN Energy Solutions will invest up to €500 million in its hydrogen-focused subsidiary H-TEC Systems.

A group of researchers in the United Kingdom is developing a modular, multi-vector energy system that can be installed into new homes and retrofitted into existing buildings to provide seasonal heat storage. In the proposed system configuration, a rooftop solar array would be used to power a heat pump or another electrical heating element, which in turn produces the heat to be stored by thermal devices.

Megasol said the solar module relies on new back-contact technology that is able to reduce internal resistance, ohmic losses and cell spacing.

Researchers in Australia have compared the firing resistance of p-type and n-type poly-Si/SiOx passivating contacts and found that the former have better resistance to hydrogen diffusivity and higher passivation quality after firing.

The factory is expected to begin operating with an annual capacity of 300 MW and to produce bifacial modules with a power output of 600 W.

Europe’s declining security situation and rising fossil fuel prices are driving calls for independence from gas. A new study by the Wuppertal Institute, commissioned by Greenpeace, shows that a complete shift away from fossil fuels in the heating sector could be possible for Germany within 13 years.

Australia-based mining giant Fortescue has started the development of an electric train that recharges itself using gravity, after settling its recent purchase of UK-based Williams Advanced Engineering.