Germany

An international team of scientists developed a technique to isolate individual sources of electrical ‘noise’ within a solar cell. Comparing the technique to being able to pick out a single voice within a 200-person choir, they say the technique will help to improve understanding of where efficiency losses occur within a cell, and effective ways to mitigate them.

The German companies plan to combine their tools for project planning and battery systems via a new interface. They aim to simplify the work processes of planners and installers.

A new EUPD Research report shows that a PV system can cover 39% of the power demand of an electric vehicle, but this potentially rises to 80% if storage is included.

The German energy storage business has invested an unspecified amount in compatriot Stercom Power Solutions, which offers the ability to transfer electricity, untethered, from a magnetic coil to a receiver coil on the underside of new-energy vehicles.

Plus, the Norwegian government is set to devote €2.5 million into a joint venture trying to develop liquid organic hydrogen carrier solutions for shipping by the middle of the decade.

Around 500 open-pit lakes left behind as a legacy of Germany’s open-cast lignite mining industry could potentially host more than 50 GW of solar generation capacity. With that in mind, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is financing a three-year study into the technology’s revenue potential.

Research institutes in Germany and Chile are investigating the potential of extracting lithium and other minerals, as well as drinking water, from brines used in geothermal energy. The concept could greatly reduce the environmental impacts of mining in northern Chile. The project has set up a demonstration of the technology at a geothermal power plant in western Germany, and is working to identify optimal sites in Chile for further development.

The photovoltaic systems installed in Germany produced almost eight terawatt-hours of solar power in June alone. The previous record had been set in June 2019. Solar covered around 20.6 percent of the country’s electricity demand last month.

India’s energy transition will not succeed without rooftop PV and roll-out is hindered not only by a lack of household finance, but by the fact many of the nation’s flat roofs are enjoyed by residents. Germany’s international development agency has proposed a solution.

According to new statistics, the rooftop PV segment saw a small contraction in May.