Europe

Utility-scale solar is stirring in the region, with support from development banks. Following a series of competitive auctions, PV projects have been commissioned and are under development in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In the latter nation, corporate interest in distributed, small-scale renewables is growing but for further market uptake, additional incentives should be introduced, practitioners say.

A group of UK companies has started working on a 10 MW wind-to-hydrogen project, American Airlines has announced a new investment in hydrogen distribution, and ACWA Power has teamed up with South Korea’s Kepco to develop green hydrogen/ ammonia projects in the Middle East.

Aerocompact’s new CompactFLAT GS mounting structure can be installed 40 cm above rooftop surfaces, with tilt angles of 10 and 15 degrees. The company says the product is ideal for bifacial solar arrays and green rooftops.

According to VDMA, a German engineering association, there are now more orders coming in for German production equipment from Europe than from China. Nevertheless, shipments to Asia remain dominant.

Russian researchers have transmuted poisonous Sosnowsky’s hogweed into high-grade anode material for sodium-ion batteries. The obtained material has a Coulombic efficiency of 87%, which is on par with the best reported results for hard carbons synthesized from other raw materials.

Nilar International began manufacturing the ReOX reusable batteries at its factory in Sweden. The natural aging process of the battery is reversible and the battery is reportedly able to operate at full capacity at least three times.

Endesa’s proposal for its Andorra energy hub in Spain is based on the hybridization of renewable technologies, storage and green hydrogen for the decarbonization of local companies.

Shell says it wants to use Skeleton Technologies’ SuperBattery storage system in its mining division to electrify and decarbonize its off-road vehicle fleet. The fast-charging batteries are based on a patented curved graphene material.

Portuguese startup Solarud has unveiled the next generation of its water-draining device for PV panels with low, sloping inclines. The new design avoids clogs caused by sand and dust, in nano and customized versions that fit installations and modules of different sizes.

The Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance is one of the European Union’s key strategy initiatives under the REPowerEU plan that was adopted in May 2022. The European Commission has now formally endorsed the initiative, which is expected to launch by the end of this year.