Technology

GAIL, India’s largest state-owned natural gas company, has awarded a contract to an undisclosed company to install and commission a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis unit in Madhya Pradesh. The system will be powered by 10 MW of renewables, to produce around 4.3 metric tons of hydrogen per day.

India-based Hygenco has set up a green hydrogen generation plant on a build-own-operate basis in Madhya Pradesh. The alkaline electrolysis-based plant is co-located with a solar PV project in the state’s Ujjain district. 

The new high-voltage Varta.wall storage device features an aluminum design and is available in capacities ranging from 10 kWh to 20 kWh. It also boasts an emergency power function.

The S5-EO1P(4-5)K-48 series off-grid PV inverter has an efficiency of 96.7% and supports parallel operation of up to 10 units, which allows for a system capacity of up to 50 kW. According to the manufacturer, the device is compatible with all top-tier brands of lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries.

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

Bhago Mobility Solutions, the green energy vertical of automotive parts manufacturer Modern Automotive, will invest $16 million in a partnership with Pastiche. They plan to jointly develop solid-state and lithium-ion batteries for electric mobility and energy storage.

Mumbai-based Cleo Tech has developed a battery-powered, handheld tool for scratch-free, dry cleaning of solar panels. The tool’s cleaning brush clings end-to-end on the aluminum frames of the panels, avoiding direct contact of the moving parts with the cells, other than the soft nylon bristles.

Uttar Pradesh-based Inficold has developed a multi-chamber, solar-powered cold storage solution that facilitates the storage of multiple perishable commodities in different temperature-controlled chambers, all under their respective ideal storage conditions.

Portuguese startup Solarud has developed a way to eliminate soiling around the frames of PV panels with low inclination slopes. The device drains water that would otherwise stay stagnant on the surface of modules.

As people have gradually migrated to the world’s cities, urban areas have migrated upward to scrape the sky. And yet, while one of the first principles of power generation is to generate as close as possible to the point of consumption, energy systems have long been designed to deliver electricity to major cities from distant hubs. But now, thanks to recent advances in solar panel energy density and building-integrated PV, vertical cities could soon be standing tall under their own power.