Technology and R&D

The framework will guide the state-level and central government ministries and other stakeholders in formulating schemes and programs for the promotion of distributed renewable energy-based livelihood applications.

Germany’s Sunfarming is testing the new project design in cooperation with research centers Jülich and the Fraunhofer ISE.

There are literal oceans of space for floating PV (FPV), beyond the first applications on lakes, reservoirs and hydro-electric dams. For countries where land is at a premium, such as the Netherlands, Singapore, and Japan, offshore FPV is of particular interest. Of course, unlike a reservoir, the sea is rarely still. Thankfully FPV’s growth has also brought technological innovation and maturity with it, meaning the coast could now be clear for solar to head offshore.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi have developed solar towers that can be moved from one place to another and can generate 20-30% more power while requiring only 50-60% space compared to conventional mounting setups.

Seaborg Technologies, a Danish manufacturer of molten salt nuclear reactors, has turned a technology that was originally developed for nuclear power into a large-scale storage solution for wind and solar. It has developed a storage system that uses renewable energy to heat salt with electrical heaters, based on two-tank molten salt storage designs developed for concentrated solar power plants.

The camper can be driven and parked without the use of a car, is integrated with solar, and optimized for the electric vehicle revolution.

Developed by French start-up Ecosun, the trailer is equipped with 15 solar panels with output of 360 W and batteries with a storage capacity of 23 kWh. It can be used for construction sites, military camps and water pumping systems.

A pair of researchers from UC San Diego has proposed to precompute certain data when the grid is flooded with solar or wind power, and then store it on servers for later use.

The 8 kW photovoltaic shade was deployed on the outdoor rest area of a commercial building located in the northern part of Madrid. It was built with conventional solar modules provided by JA Solar and a structure made with light galvanized steel profiles for plasterboard partitions.

U.S-based solid-state battery start-up Sparks has opened a pilot plant for its patented lithium battery technology based on zero cobalt cathodes. The company wants to challenge China’s dominance in next-gen battery development.