Sweden

Sweden’s annual PV capacity additions could grow by around 33% to 750 MW this year, from 500 MW in 2021, according to Becquerel Sweden. The large-scale solar market is set to contribute up to 150 MW, and the segment is expected to grow significantly beyond 2022.

The Nordic region is set to become a European renewables powerhouse, according to Rystad Energy. It says Finland, Sweden and Denmark could collectively install up to 12.8 GW of new solar by 2030.

Sweden’s Vattenfall has revealed plans to build a subsidy-free, large-scale solar plant along the A6 highway in the Netherlands. Construction is expected to begin in 2024, with operations to start in late 2024 or early 2025.

European Energy is ready to start building a 128.5 MW solar park in Sweden. The project was halted earlier this year, but that decision has since been reversed. The installation is expected to start generating electricity in 2024.

A Swedish team has inaugurated a pilot facility to mass produce algae material that can potentially boost silicon solar module efficiency by 4% and thin film by 36%. The algae are added to the encapsulant in silicon-based modules or to the anti-reflective coating on the glass of thin film modules. The team estimates the resulting modules would be 3.9% cheaper.

With the last incumbent to enter and leave the revolving door of UK prime ministers having caused alarm by reportedly preparing plans to effectively ban big solar on farmland, Harald Överholm, CEO of clean energy company Alight, says politicians need to put discredited arguments behind them and get on with the urgent business of shoring up energy security.

Tsinghua University researchers have developed a way to combine high-cost platinum and a rare earth element, lanthanum, to serve as a catalyst in fuel cells. Meanwhile, SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall have revealed plans to launch industrial production of hydrogen direct reduced sponge iron (H-DRI) by the end of this decade.

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.

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.

Lhyfe has started an 18-month offshore green hydrogen pilot project in France, while SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall have commissioned a pilot facility to store fossil-free hydrogen gas in Sweden. The EU and US, meanwhile, have both announced progress on policy measures to support hydrogen.