Germany

MEAG, the asset manager of Munich Re and Ergo Group, has acquired all shares in the ready-to-build storage project in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. SMA Altenso is to provide the full EPC and O&M services for the battery park, which is scheduled to go online in the second half of 2025.

The method developed at the Technical University of Munich is intended to make several hundred thousand charge and discharge cycles possible in the future instead of a few thousand. A special protective layer for the zinc anodes of the batteries is crucial.

MBJ Solutions, a German testing equipment specialist, recently launched two new products for developers of perovskite and perovskite silicon tandem devices. The MBJ Steady State Sun Simulator is designed for cells and small perovskite module research, and the MBJ Light Soaking Unit is for aging tests and preconditioning.

The new electrolyzer is designed to match the performance of established PEM electrolyzers. Its anode catalyst consists of inexpensive nickel double hydroxide compounds with iron, cobalt or manganese.

The transaction, consisting of equity and convertible bonds, will cover Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Croatia. RP Global aims to commission 2.5 GWp of renewable power in the next five years.

The costs for renewable energy funding this year will be higher than forecast, due in part to the many hours with negative spot market prices on the electricity exchange. A new report expects the trend of high costs to continue until 2029.

A group of researchers have investigated the influence of the regulatory framework on supporting the expansion of ground-mounted PV plants close to transport routes as railways, highway and federal roads in Germany. Their analysis showed that most of the PV systems installed next to these routes are located on what was once agricultural land.

Statkraft says it is progressing with its 200 MW electrolysis plant in Germany, while Neste says it will not invest in its 120 MW electrolyzer project in Finland.

The Norwegian energy company wants to build 200 MW of electrolysis capacity in the German state of Lower Saxony. The waste heat generated is to be used for district heating. The EU has now asked Statkraft to enter into negotiations on funding.

A German research team has developed a precise cleaning process for electrode deburring in perovskite and organic solar PV roll-to-roll production lines. It is based on commercially available equipment from Germany-based Acp Systems.