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R&D

India’s NTPC to pilot solid gravity energy storage

NTPC has invited an expression of interest to supply, design, install, and commission a mechanical energy storage system at its Talcher Thermal Power station in Odisha. The project is intended for demonstration purposes.

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Perovskite solar cell based on metal-organic framework with 22.02% efficiency

Scientists in Hong Kong have developed a cell they say retains more than 90% of its initial efficiency under accelerated testing conditions. The device is based on two-dimensional metal-organic frameworks.

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South Korea bets on tandem solar technologies

The South Korean government has released a new roadmap to support R&D activities in the solar sector. The document indicates the country’s solar manufacturing industry may be encouraged to opt for high-efficiency and expensive panels based on tandem solar cells.

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Seven major players shortlisted for Australia’s hydrogen funding round

Commercialisation of hydrogen production is a priority of the Australian government. Seven applicants for ARENA funding of large-scale hydrogen proposals made it through to the next round, in which they will submit full applications for projects that will be expected to commence construction in 2022.

IEA report appears to acknowledge 2050 net zero may be beyond us

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.

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Earth’s magnetic field affecting PV panel performance

Researchers in Kenya say the geomagnetic field could reduce solar panel conversion efficiency 0.21% between the equator and a 50-degree latitude. Their analysis showed the complex magnetic field can determine increases in module fill factor and falls in maximum power.

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Lithium battery for low- and high-voltage storage

Dubai-based Weco has unveiled a new lithium battery solution that can operate in parallel as a low-voltage storage system or in series as a high-voltage battery with no hardware changes. The batteries can be mounted on walls or set up in a stack configuration.

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Borehole thermal energy storage for solar

The municipality of Drammen, Norway, has started testing a seasonal PV storage project that uses boreholes in the ground. The operators of the project are using electricity from PV modules to produce heat via a CO2 heat pump and outdoor air. The heat is produced by the CO2 pump during the spring, summer and fall, in addition to heat produced by solar thermal collectors.

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Single‐walled carbon nanotubes for more efficient III‐V solar cells

Russian researchers have improved the efficiency of a thin-fim GaAs‐based solar cell by 0.9% by applying single‐walled carbon nanotubes as the topmost layer. The cell also showed a slight increase in the short circuit current density, from 16.9 to 17.9 mA/cm2.

New technique to determine best cooling technique for solar modules

A new paper published by researchers at Malaysia’s Multimedia University provides a new method to assess the effectiveness of different cooling systems for photovoltaic modules. The proposed technique relies on measuring the output of the module with added cooling and comparing this to its power rating under standard test conditions.

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