Technology

Scientists have used a dual-functional, material-sharing strategy with ethyl viologen diiodide to achieve synergistic performance enhancement in PV-powered batteries. The system was reportedly able to power a wearable glucose monitor for 24 hours.

Renshine Solar says it has achieved a record 27.5% efficiency for a flexible all-perovskite cell and 23.0% on a 20.26 cm² panel.

Scientists in India have designed a system that uses PV panels, a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell, battery storage, and a supercapacitor. It also relies on an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system-based MPPT that reportedly achieves an efficiency of 98.7%.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is set to begin production at its upcoming battery gigafactory in 2026, with an initial annual capacity of 40 GWh. The facility will later be modularly scaled up to 100 GWh per annum, announced Anant Ambani, executive director of RIL, during the company’s annual general meeting recently.

Researchers at CSIR-Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute thermally encapsulated organic redox molecules within multiwalled carbon nanotubes to form a stable and flowable slurry for use as high-capacity catholytes in aqueous zinc flow batteries. The assembled batteries using these catholytes exhibited excellent cycling stability at an applied current density of 1.0 mA cm⁻², with a Coulombic efficiency of 99%.

Accurately measuring the performance of perovskite solar cells and modules requires significant modifications to long-established testing standards used in silicon PV. Researchers are settling on methods that rely on up to several minutes of constant light exposure and other time-consuming procedures. These may be fine for the laboratory setting, but those looking to produce this technology at scale need standardized methods that can characterize cells and modules at a much faster rate.

As India accelerates its energy transition and modernises its grid infrastructure, the energy and utility sector will move beyond its traditional functionality. Cybersecurity, once a back-office IT concern, is now at the front, especially for Operational Technology (OT).

Solaires Enterprises, a Canadian perovskite startup, has begun supplying indoor PV modules for integration into sensor devices, marking its first commercial shipment.

Achal Agrawal, CEO of Macsen Labs, a chemical company making bold strides into battery materials, speaks to pv magazine about the potential of sodium-ion batteries for energy storage, their journey developing Prussian White cathodes, and plans to scale this technology.

India is already investing in energy storage solutions such as batteries and pumped storage to enable greater integration of renewable energy into the grid. However, this alone may not be sufficient. It’s time to also look at demand management to enable dovetail between renewable energy generation and demand.