Scientists in the United Arab Emirates have looked at how off-grid rooftop PV could be combined with batteries, fuel cells or reversible solid oxide cells for energy storage. The modeling assumed a typical commercial building in Los Angeles.

US scientists have developed a way to remove snow and ice from solar panels at a much faster rate than conventional approaches. It is based on a glass coating on a film with high optical transparency and superhydrophobicity.

Indian scientists have developed a system under which a pumped-hydro facility stores grid electricity during off-peak hours by pumping water to an upper reservoir. During peak hours, the system feeds the load, rather than taking power from the grid.

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

Renac Power’s new plug-and-play battery has a storage capacity of 3.74 kWh, but it can be enhanced in series with up to five batteries to 18.7 kWh. It has a nominal voltage of 96 V and a voltage range of 81 V to 108 V.

A UK consortium has developed the Prisma system, which stores thermal energy in liquid air form to provide onsite compressed air, via a latent energy cold storage tank filled with a phase-change material. It is expected to have a levelized cost of storage of GBP 114 ($143.10)/MWh.

Sharp’s new IEC 61215 and IEC 61730-certified-certified panel features 144 half-cells based on M10 wafers and a 10-busbar design. Its operating temperature coefficient is -0.349% per degree Celsius and its power tolerance reaches up to 5%.

The device is described as a heat engine with no moving parts that is able to produce power from a heat source of between 1,900 to 2,400 C. This concept is known as thermal energy grid storage (TEGS) and consists of a low-cost, grid-scale storage technology that uses thermophotovoltaic cells to convert heat to electricity above 2,000 C.

Created by a Dutch group of companies and research institutions, the mobile solar system may also be combined with an electrolyzer for hydrogen generation. Two prototypes are currently being tested by a farmer and a research institute in the Netherlands.

Chinese inverter maker Growatt has launched Infinity 1500, a portable power station for off-grid applications.