Panasonic unveils vehicle-to-home system for PV-powered homes
Panasonic claims that its new vehicle-to-home system can increase the self-consumption rate of residential solar and storage capacity to 90%.
Heat pumps competitive with gas boilers in some markets, says IEA
Th International Energy Agency (IEA) says unsubsidized heat pumps are already competitive with gas boilers in mature markets like the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, and China. It says global sales will soar to record levels by 2030.
Itochu to start recycling solar modules
Japan’s Itochu has announced a new tie-up with France’s Rosi Solar, which develops tech to recover and recycle high-purity silver, copper and silicon from solar modules.
Mitsubishi unveils air source heat pump
Mitsubishi has released a cascaded air source heat pump that can produce between 7.8 kW and 640 kW of heat. It is reportedly able to generate hot water at a temperature of up to 70 C without boost heaters.
Japanese consortium launches first warranty scheme for second-life solar
Japan-based Marubeni and Sompo Japan have partnered to provide defect warranties for second-life PV modules. Marubeni will verify the traceability and authenticity of information on the panels using blockchain technology.
Vertical agrivoltaics for high snow loads
Luxor Solar has developed a south-oriented system for high snow loads in Japan. It features its own heterojunction solar modules, along with mounting systems from Germany’s Next2Sun and inverters from Japan’s Omron.
Toshiba, Marubeni launch rock-based thermal energy storage tech pilot
Toshiba and Marubeni have revealed plans to build commercial projects based on thermal storage technology using rocks. They have set up a demonstrator with 100 kWh of storage capacity and a relatively high heat storage density.
Solar-wind hybrid project finally ready to go in Australia
After almost four years of delays the solar-wind hybrid 60 MW Kennedy Energy Park in the Australian state of Queensland is inching towards full operation after project developer Windlab confirms the final stage of testing and commissioning of the Australian-first hybrid project is underway.
Roadmap to achieve CIGS solar modules with efficiencies above 20%
Japanese scientists have described the steps that need to be taken to improve the average efficiency of CIGS solar modules, from around 18.5% at present to more than 20%. They presented all of the critical technical factors that are currently holding the tech back from broader market adoption.
The Hydrogen Stream: Africa could become key green hydrogen market by 2050, says Masdar
Masdar says Africa’s annual hydrogen exports could hit 40 million tons by 2050, while Israeli researchers have published a new study on the discharge characteristics of oxidized intermediates formed under water photo-oxidation conditions.
