Europe

CNPC and Sinopec are working on transporting hydrogen via pipelines, while Matrix Renewables has expanded its green hydrogen partnership with Rolwind Renovables.

Participants in the European Union’s new cross-border solar tender will have to submit project proposals with capacities between 5 MW and 100 MW. Luxembourg is providing a voluntary payment of €40 million ($43.9 million) and Finland is hosting the projects that will compete for the subsidies.

The European Commission is now reviewing Italy’s new rules on agrivoltaics. They define which “innovative agrivoltaic systems” are entitled to the Italian government’s €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) incentive scheme for agrivoltaics.

Fraunhofer ISE has developed solar thermal facade panels that function as heat pump sources in buildings. The solution is made of ultra-high-performance concrete for aesthetic architectural facades.

EST-Floattech has developed a nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) energy storage system for maritime applications. The are two versions of the battery modules, with storage capacities of 5.8 kWh or 10 kWh. The company also plans to offer a variant with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry.

With copper prices rising, inflation driving up the cost of living, and organized criminal gangs stepping up operations in the United Kingdom and across Europe, solar project owners need to be more conscious than ever of security.

The annual SiliconPV Conference came to TU Delft in the Netherlands last week and offered an important health check for the science and technology behind solar energy. pv magazine was on site to hear the latest from researchers reaching for higher efficiency through tandem cells and other innovations, and working to cut down solar technology’s consumption of rare and expensive materials.

Lazard explains in a new report that the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) is normally lower for green hydrogen than for pink hydrogen, using both PEM and alkaline electrolyzers, with or without subsidies. Meanwhile, Australian authorities are trying to increase the competitiveness of the local hydrogen sector, while car companies are updating their fuel cell plans.

Germany’s first auction of the year for utility-scale solar concluded with prices ranging from €0.0529 ($0.059)/kWh to €0.0730/kWh. The procurement exercise was significantly oversubscribed.

Dutch startup Airturb has developed a 500 W hybrid wind-solar power system featuring a vertical axis wind turbine and a solar base hosting four 30 W solar panels. The system can be used for rooftop or off-grid applications.