Technology and R&D

The race to the theoretical maximum conversion efficiency continues and with new lab results in, it appears a big leap forward may have been achieved at Leibniz University Hannover.

The energy transition is accelerating, Ernst & Young global energy leader Benoit Laclau has warned grid operators, thanks to the confluence of digitization, decentralization and decarbonization. Traditional utilities must get with the program or be swept aside.

Several new concepts in lithium-ion storage technology have the potential to greatly the increase the energy capacity of batteries. Among them are lithium metal anodes, which could potentially increase energy density by more than 50%. With a newly optimized electrolyte, scientists at the University of California, San Diego have taken another step toward making the idea a commercial reality.

The material is a conductive additive for silicon anodes in lithium-ion batteries, helping to improve cycle life and increase energy density. It has taken decades to bring the nanotubes into commercial production.

The British-German perovskite startup has closed series D funding with another £34 million to bring the money raised in the round to £65 million.

Researchers at Denmark’s Aarhus University have created a modelling tool which they say, by taking into account weather data and the historical performance of PV installations, can precisely predict the output of a solar plant at any location. The tool, say the academics, will help with the planning of new installations and the integration of PV into energy systems.

Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the U.S. used x-ray imaging to observe cracks forming in a solid state lithium battery, a discovery they say changes the understanding of performance of solid state batteries and which could lead to more durable systems.

Technology made in China competes with conventional plasma-based equipment to deposit the aluminum oxide layers at the heart of passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) cells.

Scientists from China and the United States have developed an additive for electrolyte materials they say could improve the operating temperature range for lithium-ion batteries, allowing them to operate down to minus 40 degrees Celsius without compromising performance at temperatures up to 60 degrees Celsius.

Australian and Indian scientists have developed a method of manufacturing soluble graphene in a cost-effective and eco-friendly way from one of Australia’s most common resources, gum trees.