South Korea

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.

Scientists in South Korea have used a triboelectric generator and an electrodynamic dust shield to develop a panel-cleaning system that can be activated by footsteps. They said the system can remove more than 70% of accumulated dust with the pressure of just 12 footsteps.

The Clean H2 Infra Fund has closed with new investors to mobilize up to €20 billion ($19.4 billion) of investment capacity over the next six years for heavy mobility and energy-intensive industries. Toshiba has revealed new production tech for electrolysis electrodes that slashes iridium use, while Hyundai Heavy Industries has kicked off a demo project for fuel cell vessels.

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology researchers have unveiled designs for advanced solar hydrogen production systems to broaden the application of LC biomass. Mitsubishi has started building the world’s first validation center for hydrogen-related technologies, while Fortescue Future Industries has announced investments in Germany and Australia.

A Korean research group has built an inverted perovskite cell that is able to retain 91.7% of its initial efficiency after 1,000 h under standard illumination conditions. They built the device with an electron-accepting interlayer that also acts as charge transport.

Korean scientists have built a wafer scale radial junction solar cell with tapered microwires and a surface passivation layer made of aluminum oxide. The device showed the highest power conversion efficiency among the previously reported microwire solar cells.

South Korean authorities have already identified 2,267 cases of illegal subsidy use for renewable energy plants. They also ascertained that agrivoltaic projects presented as such had no agricultural activities being implemented.

Hanwha Q Cells has combined its solar panels and batteries with Samsung’s heat pumps. The offering includes an app that reportedly optimizes power consumption while maximizing solar power utilization.

Scientists in China have studied the formation of contacts in tunnel-oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cells, and the role of high-temperature annealing processes on the quality and performance of cells. Their findings could open up pathways for scientists looking to squeeze even more efficiency out this rapidly growing cell technology.

Hanwha Solutions has unveiled a $548.8 million plan to enter the TOPCon module business and expand its EVA production capacity in South Korea.