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- UQ nabs funding to speed up process of connecting renewable projects to the grid
- A new platform will test a streamlined approach to resolve commissioning issues in custom-made test environment
- EV1: Can Chilalo spherical graphite be produced into super-premium active anode materials for lithium-ion batteries?
The University of Queensland (UQ) has received $498,000 in funding from the Australian Renewable Agency (ARENA) to develop and test a new platform, which will help speed up the process of connecting renewable projects to the grid.
Large scale generators are required to negotiate and agree to a set of Generator Performance Standards before connecting to the grid.
Currently, compliance with these standards is demonstrated by extensive power system modelling that must then be validated during onsite commissioning.
This process can be challenging and often causes long delays to connect these renewable power sources to the grid.
UQ’s Project Partner, EPEC Group, a leading technical advisor on grid connection, has found that many large-scale solar and battery projects have experienced delays, which affect investor confidence and increase costs of new renewable generation projects.
The new platform will test a streamlined approach, which will allow common commissioning issues to be identified and resolved in a custom-designed testing environment, prior to installation on site.
ARENA says this could become standard practice for renewable generators and help to not only accelerate but de-risk new generation connecting to the grid.
“To meet our national 2030 and 2050 emissions reductions goals, we must accelerate the pace of commissioning, installing and connecting renewable energy projects,” ARENA acting CEO Chris Faris says.
“If we can streamline the commissioning process through smart application of technology like this project, we can reduce the costs and risks associated with bringing new generators online.
“This project has the potential to significantly speed up the process for bringing new solar, wind and battery projects online, so we’re excited to see what the University of Queensland team delivers,” he says.
To ASX renewable energy news
Sustainable graphite player, EV1, has received electrochemical test work results indicating that Chilalo spherical graphite can be produced into the super-premium class of active anode materials for lithium-ion batteries in the EV and energy storage sectors.
This class of active anode materials sells for around US$18,000 to US$22,000 per tonne.
EV1 says the results ‘exceed specifications’ of the major EV manufacturers and means that lithium-ion batteries using Chilalo coated spherical graphite will have exceptional cycle life and very high recharge efficiency compared to competing products (ie. represent a premium product).
Un-optimised testwork also delivered exceptional yields of 64% into usable spherical graphite (compared to industry average of ~40%) which will substantially enhance the economics of Evolution’s battery anode materials production plant.
Evolution will continue to work with its US technology partner to optimise and improve results and produce specific sizes and grades for targeted battery manufacturers.
Further processing and battery testing of the purified, non-spherical by-product from the spheroidisation process is ongoing to determine suitability as conductivity enhancement in battery cathodes and electrically conductive coatings – successful results would further enhance the economics of the planned battery anode materials plant.
Hansen, a global provider of software and services to the energy, water, and communication industries has announced a partnership expansion with Energy Queensland (EQL) – where owners of Australia’s largest electricity distribution network have committed to upgrade to the latest version of Hansen CIS.
The expanded agreement will also be taking new products in Hansen MDM for meter data management and Hansen NBM for network bill management and includes an upgrade of EQL’s existing Hansen CIS for customer care and billing onto Hansen’s latest SaaS platform.
This new agreement builds on the existing long-term relationship between Hansen and EQL and is for an initial term of five years with associated revenue of around $45m.
HSN global chief executive Andrew Hansen says this new agreement adding Hansen MDM and Hansen NBM to the upgrade of Hansen CIS on its latest SaaS platform is a fantastic example of Hansen’s ability to partner with customers and provide valuable solutions.
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