Off Grid

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 14 June titled Redox Flow Batteries for Stationary Storage.

There is a global demand for more flexible wastewater treatment systems that are capable of operating independently of the electricity grid. As well as residential community treatment plants, there is also the need for mobile solutions that are able to serve the demands of military installations, mining sites, worker camps, disaster relief and refugee camps in a more energy efficient manner that reduces reliance on diesel generators.

Electrochromic glass is the largest smart glass market today, and it is unlikely to be dethroned any time soon. For those unfamiliar with the technology, in its most common form it transitions from a clear or pale yellow to a vivid and dark blue (a result of the tungsten oxide electrochromic layer, as shown in diagram below), starting at the edges and moving inwards. It blocks light and heat to replace your blinds, and maybe your air conditioning too, but it is expensive.

Redox flow batteries are an energy storage technology initially developed by NASA in the 70's for space applications. After several years of intensive R&D, in 2006, several key patents on the technology expired, opening up the arena to companies all around the world.

A recent independent study by Imperial College London has evaluated the potential for new gravity-fed energy storage within the UK energy system. With tens of thousands of vertical mine shafts in the UK alone (UK Coal Authority), the potential initial market is sizeable.

This article provides an overview of energy storage innovations.

There are several flavours of technology today jostling to make the dream of electricity-generating windows a reality.

Photovoltaics is now common on water because cooling increases output. It is used on a vast scale for on-grid solar farms but it has a place off grid too.

This article provides an overview smart windows.

Modern energy harvesting from solar windows to solar roads is about much more than replacing grid electricity: cooking, heating and other high-power activities currently using fossil fuels are now a target too.