Central & South America

North Carolina State University (NCSU) has developed an energy-efficient strategy for room-temperature hydrogen release from liquid hydrogen carriers, which uses less rhodium. Elsewhere in the world, Airbus launched its Zero Emission Development Centre in the UK, Toshiba ESS teamed up with Fusion Fuel to target Australian and European markets, and Corfo signed agreements to finance three renewable hydrogen projects with GNL Quintero, iCAP, and Air Liquide in Chile.

In other news, Shinshu University researchers developed a graphene-wrapped molecular-sieving membrane that is reportedly 100 times more efficient than that of conventional polymer separation membranes. Topsoe aalso nnounced the construction of the “world’s largest electrolyzer production facility,” and Toho Gas said it would produce blue hydrogen in Japan for local consumption.

SolarPower Europe launched its “Global Market Outlook” report at Intersolar Europe this week in Munich. The world installed a record 167.8 GW of solar in 2021, passing the 1 TW milestone and giving rise to a new international solar star: Brazil. 

Solarever, a Mexican PV module manufacturer, is aiming for 1 GW of production capacity and plans to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange, as it expands into the storage and electric-vehicle markets.

Lift Energy Storage Technology is a proposed long-term storage solution that relies on elevators to bring solid masses to the tops of buildings in charging mode. It then lowers the same mass to produce electricity in discharge mode.

Chile is launching a new initiative to reuse PV modules via a public-private partnership involving Enel Green Power.

In other news, Hydrofuel Canada developed hollow hybrid plasmonic nanocages to create an electrocatalyst for ammonia synthesis from nitrogen (N2) and water (H2O) and said green hydrogen could be separated from this ammonia and sold at about $1.50 per kilogram. Furthermore, Norway’s Aker Horizons and Statkraft are exploring green hydrogen and ammonia production opportunities in India and Brazil, targeting local steel and fertilizer industries.

pv magazine publisher, Eckhart Gouras, interviewed Diego Mesa, the Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy at the BNEF Summit in New York. Mesa recounted the history of solar PV adoption in his country and provided details on the most recent developments, including the construction of Colombia’s largest solar park by Italian group Enel and the first large scale battery project by Canadian Solar.

The $2.7 million solar plant will help reduce fuel costs and the nation’s carbon footprint, according to Prime Minister Mark Phillips.

The Brazilian energy company will award 10-year and 15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) to projects exceeding 50 MW in size through this new procurement exercise.