Western Europe

Chinese manufacturer Das Solar says it will open its first European PV panel assembly plant in Mandeure, eastern France, by the end of 2025.

Government-run Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is tendering for the provision of technical and advisory support services for its grant programs aimed at organizations in Ireland planning to decarbonize. The tender follows a report by the SEAI that showed Ireland has a limited market for industrial heat pumps and called for greater outreach and support for businesses to install the technology.

Austria has opened applications for its €60 million ($68.3 million) rooftop PV rebate program for 2025, with a second-round “Made in Europe” bonus offering 20% more funding for projects using European-made components, says OeMAG.

Dutch energy storage firm Return has started construction on the 100 MW/200 MWh battery energy storage system in Waddinxveen, which will be the first project of the size to connect to the TenneT Netherlands high-voltage network in 2026. Vattenfall will manage and optimize half of the system’s capacity under an eight-year contract.

The Spanish manufacturer will exhibit the E/Xpand HV battery at the upcoming Smarter E show in Munich next month. It will showcase racks for commercial and industrial (C&I) and large-scale systems of up to 5 MWh.

Researchers in Italy have designed a novel carbon dioxide heat pump that can work with photovoltaic-thermal energy, a finned coil heat exchanger and a U-tube borehole heat exchanger. Their experiment has shown that the simultaneous use of at least two energy sources always results in improved system performance even with limited heat transfer areas.

Aurora Energy Research says the global electrolyzer pipeline now totals around 1.3 TW, with 114 GW in development and 32% expected online by the end of 2026. The firm cites stronger EU policy support and growing momentum in hybrid power purchase agreements (PPAs).

Germany’s latest auction for utility-scale solar concluded with prices ranging from €0.0399 ($0.0455)/kWh to €0.0488/kWh. The procurement exercise was significantly oversubscribed.

New research from Germany shows that home batteries have much lower chances of being hit by fire than electric vehicles and most home appliances. The researchers warned, however, that fires in residential storage systems can be more dangerous than those of burning tumble dryers.

An international research team has created a new model that finds the best tilt angle for south-facing bifacial PV plants across Europe. The scientists also considered the Alpine region to examine the impact of mountains on optimal tilt angles.