South Korea

A study into the clean energy tech innovation rate required to keep global heating under control may suggest concepts such as lithium-air could yet keep us to the mid-century ambition, but it is also starting to contemplate the temperature rise to be expected if we only achieve net-zero by 2070.

The storage technology promises ten times the energy density offered by lithium-ion batteries but notorious cycling instability remains a concern. Researchers in South Korea may have come a step nearer a solution.

SolarPower Europe has predicted the volume of new PV capacity added this year will be 4% less than last year’s figure because of the Covid-19 crisis. At the end of 2019, the world had topped 630 GW of solar. For 2020, around 112 GW of new PV capacity is expected, and in 2021, newly installed capacity could be 149.9 GW if governments support renewables in their coronavirus economic recovery plans.

The Chinese manufacturer this morning said the International Trade Commission had agreed with the initial determination issued by an administrative law judge in April, that Jinko and peers Longi Solar and REC Group had not infringed Hanwha’s solar cell passivation technology.

The levelized cost of energy generated by large scale solar plants is around $0.068/kWh, compared to $0.378 ten years ago and the price fell 13.1% between 2018 and last year alone, according to figures released by the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The regulations will come into force on June 15 and will entail panel carbon footprints being calculated according to life cycle assessments of their environmental impacts according to the KS I ISO 14040 Korean standard.

The Chinese state-owned solar manufacturer has filed a claim against its Korean competitor relating to REC’s split-cell and junction box technology.

Five testing laboratories led by Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE have begun a ‘round robin’ project to test the effects of ultraviolet light on polymer backsheet materials. Initial results indicate a route to accurate accelerated testing of backsheet UV stability over module lifetimes of 20 years-plus.

Every summer, millions flock to a festival in the city of Boryeong, 200km south of Seoul. The community offers visitors the chance to strip down and cake themselves in mud from the local tidal flats – a key geographic feature of the Korean Peninsula’s west coast. Another 50 km to the south lies the Saemangeum Seawall – the world’s longest manmade sea dyke, and the planned site of a massive 2.1 GW, state-backed floating PV installation.

Scientists in South Korea have worked with graphene and carbon nanotubes to develop a working lithium-ion battery that can be stretched by up to 50% without damage to any of the components. According to the scientists, the battery represents a significant step in the development of wearable or body-implantable electronic devices.