Technology and R&D

Located in China’s Hebei province, the 3.6GW facility consists of 12 reversible pump generating sets with a capacity of 300MW each and has a power generation capacity from storage of 6.612 billion kWh.

Bluetti’s NA300 sodium-ion solar generator offers thermal stability, fast-charging capacity, low-temperature performance, and integration efficiency.

The completed acquisition of ClipperCreek launches Enphase Energy into the fast-growing market for electric vehicle charging systems.

Researchers in Jordan have designed a solar-assisted heat pump system for swimming pool heating at a hotel in the coastal city of Aqaba. They found that the system has a payback time of only 1.94 years and that total profits after ten years of operations may reach around $1.88 million.

Israeli researchers have tested organic PV modules to power polytunnel greenhouses and have found that they might offer advantages over conventional crystalline silicon, despite their lower efficiency rates. They have lower operating temperatures but are subject to degradation, due to the mechanical stress caused by the wind-induced movement of tunnel sheeting.

Scientists in China have developed a cell with an open-circuit voltage of 0.673 V, a short-circuit current of 23.7 mA per cm2, and a fill factor of 66.8%. They improved the quality of the antimony selenosulfide films by using alkali metal fluorides.

Huaneng Power International has switched on a 320 MW floating PV array in China’s Shandong province. It deployed the plant in two phases on a reservoir near its 2.65 GW Dezhou thermal power station.

NASA sent the world’s most powerful telescope into space on Dec. 25. It deployed and powered a related PV array 30 minutes after launch.

JinkoSolar says the collaboration could be the first-ever integration of next-generation N-type technology into solar hydrogen production. Meanwhile, Russia is reportedly ready to collaborate with the European Union on hydrogen energy projects, and Snam Group has signed a term sheet with the Torino Airport Management Company for the construction of a hydrogen-ready fuel cell system in cogeneration mode with a capacity of 1.2MW at Torino Airport.

Spain also launched its hydrogen mobility program for commercial use for the first time in the country, and TSO Transgaz has called for an extraordinary meeting to endorse the company’s plans to make investments in hydrogen, including joining the European Hydrogen Backbone group. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, meanwhile, announced that its liquefied hydrogen carrier, Suiso Frontier, has departed from Kobe for Australia. It is set to return in February with what is expected to be the world’s first international liquefied hydrogen delivery.