Technology and R&D

Energy Vault secured $100 million in Series C funding for its EVx tower, which stores gravitational potential energy for grid dispatch.

The 3 kW inverter has an efficiency of 95% and features a surge power of 9000 VA. According to the manufacturer, the device is compatible with mainstream lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries.

Researchers in Spain have proposed two control strategies for the integration of heat pumps in district heating systems assisted by solar thermal collectors. Their technical-economic analysis shows that the proposed combination can reduce reliance on gas while also reducing costs.

The cooling system was made with an aluminum heat sink and a thermoelectric module. The solar panel is cooled exclusively by the thermoelectric device, which is, in turn, cooled down by the heat sink via free convection. According to the scientists that developed the technique, it was able to reduce panel operating temperature by about 10 degrees Celsius.

Australia has the sun, the wind and the space to become one of the world’s green hydrogen export superpowers in coming decades. However, the Sunburnt Country does have a dearth of one ingredient in the green hydrogen equation – freshwater. Thankfully, researchers from Monash University and a group of national water utilities are joining forces to find a way to use wastewater for the process of electrolysis.

TÜV Rheinland has verified the performance of the Soltec Diffuse Booster algorithm, which uses both sensors and weather forecasts to drive its solar trackers. According to the manufacturer, it can increase the annual revenue of a 100 MW PV plant in Spain by €1.8 million.

A German research team has developed a photovoltaic-electrochemical device for alkaline water electrolysis that can be linked to battery storage. The proposed system configuration can not only smoothen out the PV power fluctuations and facilitate power coupling, but also improve solar to hydrogen efficiency.

The efficiency of the module was certified by the U.S.’ National Renewable Energy Laboratory. It was built with perovskite solar cells with a stabilized efficiency of 23.6%, an open-circuit voltage of 1.17 V, a short-circuit current density of 24.1 mA per cm−2, and a fill factor of 0.842.

The comparison of two solar cladded roofs in Sydney, Australia, one bare beneath its panels and the other adorned with native grasses and plants, has found the panels on the green roof were, on average, 3.63% more efficient, producing an average daily output 13% greater than the conventional roof. The improvements are believed to stem from the lower temperatures on the green roof, thanks to its plants – which also provided a plethora of additional benefits.

Carbon never goes away, says Associate Professor Tianyi Ma, but if industrial carbon dioxide emissions can be cleanly, renewable catalyzed into chemicals and fuels that we need, we can reduce the overall GHG burden on the earth’s atmosphere.