Australia

Investment confidence in Australia’s green hydrogen industry has received a $660 million boost following a joint declaration with Germany to negotiate supply chains that guarantee European buyers for Australian products.

Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation has backed a hydrogen fuel cell developer $7 million to support an innovative form of technology using silicon-based bipolar plates.

Halocell Energy, an Australian perovskite solar cell developer, is close to bringing its first indoor solar product to market.

Allegro Energy, an Australian redox flow battery developer, aims to “rapidly accelerate” its manufacturing capacity after closing a AUD 17.5 million ($11.6 million) funding round that attracted major domestic and international investors.

The Australian federal government has approved a 600 MW/1,200 MWh solar farm and battery energy storage system in the state of New South Wales.

A new Clean Energy Council (CEC) report highlights a steady recovery in large-scale renewable energy investment and strong ongoing investment in energy storage in Australia.

The US Department of Energy has announced $62 million for 20 projects to accelerate hydrogen technology, while international researchers have revealed how hydrogen injection into existing natural gas infrastructure could affect 115 million gas meters in the European Union.

Australian PV module manufacturer Tindo Solar has released a new n-type bifacial solar panel featuring an output of 425 W and conversion efficiency of 21.8%.

The first AUD 550 million ($372.2 million) of the Australian federal government’s Solar Sunshot program has been launched to support the development of the domestic solar manufacturing industry and help local businesses capture more of the global PV supply chain.

Amid significant environmental concern about the impact of more widespread lithium mining, various methods of extracting the battery material from brine could offer a cleaner solution – and reignite a historic Cornish industry.