Utility Scale Storage

The Indian energy thinktank and the US-based consulting firm will research to demonstrate the viability of hydrogen as a sustainable solution for India’s energy needs. 

Researchers from India’s Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS) have developed a coordination polymer based catalyst for hydrogen production that exhibited exceptionally high durability for 70 hours at a high current density of −300 mA/ cm2.

With demand for cleaner forms of energy and a greater need for flexibility and reliability in the power supply, the role of battery energy storage is critical. Innovation in battery technology is essential to match demand growth and the shift in technical requirements. Predictions of 400,000 MWh of battery storage required by 2025 means that all battery technologies will play a role in contributing to a clean energy future.

The software giant has begun testing hydrogen fuel cells as a back-up power source at one of its U.S. data centers. A 250 kW pilot system successfully powered part of the facility for 48 hours and the company is now eyeing 3 MW systems to replace back-up diesel generators.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has specified how procurement of back-up grid capacity will work for electricity distribution companies. The rules consider energy storage solely as part of the 51% clean energy requirement, and instead contemplate coal – with a variable price tariff element – as necessary for evening out supply.

Scientists in the U.S. claim to have demonstrated an inexpensive, long-life, safe and eco-friendly redox flow battery. The device is said to offer coulombic efficiency of 97.9%, thanks to functional electrolyte additives, pH and elevated temperature.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India has extended the bidding for its solar-plus-storage project in Ladakh by one month. The revised deadline is now September 30.

To support renewable energy integration, the government aims to make the thermal capacity flexible, almost 55% in the first stage and gradually extend it to the entire capacity.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new kind of thermal battery that can greatly increase the energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness of many industrial processes and shows great promise for use in the solar industry. Liz Thompson reports that Argonne’s Thermal Energy Storage System (TESS) can rapidly capture and store surplus heat so that it can be used as needed. With its pioneering modular design and material advancements resulting in greater efficiency, TESS is a big step forward in thermal battery technology.

Scientists led by MIT have suggested chitin, a carbon and nitrogen-rich material made from waste shrimp shells, could produce sustainable electrodes for vanadium redox flow batteries and other energy storage technologies.