Western Europe

The new high-voltage Varta.wall storage device features an aluminum design and is available in capacities ranging from 10 kWh to 20 kWh. It also boasts an emergency power function.

Norwegian startup Over Easy Solar AS is launching a vertical PV system for rooftop applications at this year’s Smarter E in Munich, Germany.

Boston Materials and Arkema have unveiled new bipolar plates, while US researchers have developed a nickel and iron-based electrocatalyst that interacts with copper-cobalt for high-performance seawater electrolysis.

Mondragon will install a 100 MW manufacturing line in the third quarter at Solarge’s factory in the Netherlands. Production is scheduled to start by the end of this year.

Germany’s Bosch wants to focus on green hydrogen production in Europe as a new dedicated business area. It said it will draw on its fuel cell expertise to build new productions facilities.

Lift Energy Storage Technology is a proposed long-term storage solution that relies on elevators to bring solid masses to the tops of buildings in charging mode. It then lowers the same mass to produce electricity in discharge mode.

Portuguese startup Solarud has developed a way to eliminate soiling around the frames of PV panels with low inclination slopes. The device drains water that would otherwise stay stagnant on the surface of modules.

Solarwatt and Stiebel Eltron have agreed to cooperate on the development of heat pumps.

Fortescue Future Industries continues to advance its green energy ambitions, announcing it will provide new funding for Dutch solar PV module maker HyET Solar, in a move designed to accelerate a planned expansion of the company’s manufacturing plant in the Netherlands.

France has increased feed-in tariffs for all PV system categories, ranging from €181.40 ($190.90)/MWh for installations below 3 kW in size to €96.90/MWh for arrays ranging in capacity from 36 kW to 100 kW.