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					</table><p>The United States <a href="https://www.energy.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Energy</a> (DOE) announced a $1.3 billion investment in three transmission lines, which will advance projects aimed at adding 3.5 GW of additional grid capacity and powering over three million homes.</p>
<p>The DOE is entering into capacity contract negotiations with three interregional transmission line projects that are spread across Nevada’s Utah, New Mexico in Arizona and New Hampshire in Vermont.</p>
<p>The three selected transmission lines are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Cross-Tie 500kV Transmission Line (Nevada, Utah). Cross-Tie is a proposed 214-mile,1,500 MW transmission line connecting existing transmission systems in Utah and Nevada</li>
<li>Southline Transmission Project (Arizona, New Mexico). Southline is a proposed 175-mile, 748 MW transmission line from Hidalgo County, New Mexico to Pima County, Arizona</li>
<li>Twin States Clean Energy Link (New Hampshire, Vermont). Twin States is a proposed 1,200 MW high-voltage direct current bidirectional line that will expand the capacity of the New England electric grid</li>
</ul>
<p>The investment is part of the $2.5 billion Transmission Facilitation Program which is a revolving fund established to overcome the financial hurdles associated with building new, large-scale transmission lines, upgrading existing transmission lines, and connecting microgrids in Hawaii, Alaska, and U.S. territories.</p>
<p>Last year, the government <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/us-seeks-public-feedback-transmission-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a Request for Information seeking public feedback on this program.</p>
<p>The DOE also announced the release of the National Transmission Study, which serves as its triennial state of the grid report containing a robust assessment of current and near-term future transmission needs through 2040. The report estimated that the U.S. needs to double its existing regional transmission capacity by 2035.</p>
<p>The study said regions with historically high levels of within-region congestion including the Northwest, Mountain, Texas, and New York regions and regions with unscheduled flows that pose reliability risks — California, Northwest, Mountain, and Southwest — need additional, strategically placed transmission deployment to reduce this congestion.</p>
<p>In July this year, the U.S. <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/us-power-congestion-costs-20-8-billion-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> congestion costs rose to $20.8 billion, which were attributed to reliance on high-cost thermal generators, as the clean energy sources remained curtailed due to insufficient transmission capacity.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/staff/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Staff</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"></div></div><div class="clearfix"></div></div></div>

US Announces $1.3 Billion Investment in Three Transmission Lines


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					</table><p>The U.S. Department of Energy (<a href="https://www.energy.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DOE</a>) has announced over $192 million in new funding for recycling batteries from consumer products, launching an advanced battery research and development (R&amp;D) consortium, and continuing the Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Prize.</p>
<p>The funds will support the administration&#8217;s target to have electric vehicles (EV) make up for half of all vehicle sales in the country by 2030.</p>
<p>The new funding opportunity builds on the $3 billion funding <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/us-funding-boost-domestic-battery-manufacturing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> by the Biden administration last year under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support domestic battery manufacturing and supply chains.</p>
<p><strong>Consumer Electronics Battery Recycling, Reprocessing, and Collection</strong></p>
<p>The DOE announced $125 million in support for consumer electronics battery recycling, reprocessing, and battery collection.</p>
<p>The funding aims to address critical areas within the consumer electronics battery recycling domain and advance sustainability efforts.</p>
<p>The initiative would play a vital role in implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which authorized $7 billion to strengthen and secure America&#8217;s battery supply chain.</p>
<p>Further, the DOE will conduct behavior change campaigns to increase consumer participation in existing battery recycling programs. These campaigns are expected to encourage individuals to actively engage in battery recycling and contribute to a more sustainable future by raising awareness and promoting behavior change.</p>
<p>Improving the economics of recycling consumer electronics batteries is another crucial aspect that will be addressed.</p>
<p>Under the funding, technological advancements and cost-reduction strategies will be explored to make battery recycling economically attractive for businesses and consumers alike.</p>
<p>The funding opportunity also aims to assist states and local governments in establishing or enhancing battery collection, recycling, and reprocessing programs.</p>
<p>The funding opportunity encourages retailers to implement dedicated programs to facilitate the proper collection, sorting, storage, and transportation of consumer electronics batteries.</p>
<p>By supporting retailers in developing effective programs, the DOE aims to improve the overall efficiency and accessibility of battery recycling efforts.</p>
<p>The DOE&#8217;s Vehicle Technologies Office and the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains will administer this funding to support the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries&#8217; National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries goals.</p>
<p><strong>Advanced Battery R&amp;D Consortium</strong></p>
<p>The Advanced Battery R&amp;D Consortium aims to allocate up to $60 million to bring together major manufacturers of EVs in the U.S., universities, partners from national laboratories, suppliers of minerals and materials, and other key stakeholders in the battery industry.</p>
<p>The primary objective is to address critical battery requirements for the next phase of widespread EV commercialization.</p>
<p>The consortium&#8217;s primary focus is to advance battery research and development that aligns with the needs of EV manufacturers.</p>
<p>It will play a crucial role in the DOE&#8217;s initiatives to develop advanced transportation technologies while contributing to the decarbonization of the transportation sector.</p>
<p>Additionally, it seeks to foster the growth of a domestic battery supply chain and enhance recycling capabilities, both of which are vital to meet the rapidly increasing demand for EV batteries.</p>
<p><strong>Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Prize</strong></p>
<p>The Biden administration has also continued the Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Prize that commenced in 2019. The prize emerged as a driving force in promoting innovative solutions for collecting, sorting, storing, and transporting spent lithium-ion batteries.</p>
<p>Its significant contributions to advancing battery recycling efforts have led to the DOE announcing an additional $7.4 million in funding.</p>
<p>The funding will support the introduction of the Breakthrough Contest and Phase IV of the Battery Recycling Prize, further incentivizing the development of groundbreaking solutions.</p>
<p>The contest aims to attract industry entrepreneurs, including both new and former prize participants. By encouraging a diverse range of competitors, it seeks to tap into fresh perspectives and ideas that align with the overarching goals of the Battery Recycling Prize. It also provides additional support to Phase III winning teams, fostering an environment of collaboration and knowledge exchange.</p>
<p><strong>Demonstrating Practical Impact</strong></p>
<p>Phase IV, named Demonstration of Impact, emphasizes the importance of translating innovative ideas into tangible actions within the battery recycling process.</p>
<p>The primary objective of this phase will be to showcase the real-world effectiveness of proposed solutions in facilitating the seamless movement of spent or discarded batteries from consumers to recyclers across diverse commercial applications.</p>
<p>The Breakthrough Contest and Phase IV further enhance the prize&#8217;s impact by inspiring new ideas, supporting winners, and demanding concrete evidence of the efficacy of proposed solutions.</p>
<p>The Battery Recycling Prize is expected to catalyze American entrepreneurs to develop and showcase cutting-edge technologies capable of profitably capturing 90% of all discarded or spent lithium-based batteries in the country for the recovery of key materials and reintroduction in the supply chain.</p>
<p>The prize envisions a future where circularity and resource conservation are central to battery waste management.</p>
<p>Last year, the DOE <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/us-seeks-public-weigh-in-for-lithium-ion-battery-recycling-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a request for information seeking guidance in implementing $335 million investments from President Joe Biden&#8217;s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for lithium-ion battery recycling programs.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gourav Mishra</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WhatsApp-Image-2022-04-06-at-6.37.25-PM-1-1.jpeg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gourav,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gourav.</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WhatsApp-Image-2022-04-06-at-6.37.25-PM-1-1.jpeg" width="89" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gourav</a> is a staff reporter with Mercom India with over six years of experience in various roles with NewsX, The New Indian Express, IBTimes India, and U.S., Republic, and Analytics India Magazine. Gourav has a Master&#8217;s in journalism from Jain University, Bengaluru. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gourav Mishra</a></div>
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US Announces $192 Million Funding to Boost Battery Recycling


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					</table><p>The Biden administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (<a href="https://www.energy.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DOE</a>), has announced $13 billion to expand and upgrade the national electric grid.</p>
<p>Funded by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the money will be split into three different aspects of grid upgrade under the Grid Resilience Innovative Partnership (GRIP) program.</p>
<p>The latest funding will also be directed to the Transmission Facilitation Program (TFP) <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-seeks-public-feedback-transmission-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> earlier this year.</p>
<p>The GRIP and TFP initiatives represent the largest single direct federal investment in the country’s transmission and distribution infrastructure to date and one of the first down payments on an over $20 billion investment under the administration’s Building a Better Grid Initiative.</p>
<p>Of the total funding, $3 billion will be provided for Smart Grid Grants to bolster the requirements in the electric power system. The fund will be used to increase the capacity of the transmission system by preventing faults leading to wildfires or other system disruptions.</p>
<p>Another tranche of $2.5 billion will be used for Grid Resilience Utility and Industry Grants. It will introduce transmission and distribution solutions to mitigate multiple hazards disrupting the power system across a region or within a community, including wildfires, hurricanes, extreme heat and cold, floods, and storms among other natural calamities.</p>
<p>Further, a $5 billion fund will be dedicated to providing financial assistance to one or multiple states, tribes, local governments, and public utility commissions to collaborate with grid owners and operators.</p>
<p>The latest announcement will supplement the $2.3 billion funding program launched in January this year, which funds grid resilience investments by states and tribes under the Building a Better Grid Initiative.</p>
<p>The first round of funding announced for GRIP is $3.8 billion for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. Concept papers are a required first step in the application process.</p>
<p>U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said, “With nearly 70% of the nation’s grid more than 25 years old, the President’s agenda is making historic investments that will strengthen the nation’s transmission grid to drive down energy costs, generate good-paying jobs, and help keep the lights on during extreme weather events.”</p>
<p>In June this year, the U.S. government <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-doe-launches-i2x-initiative/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> the Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X) program to connect more energy to America’s power grid.</p>
<p>According to a <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-needs-to-deploy-90-gw-solar-150-gw-wind-capacity-annually-to-decarbonize-electric-grid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the country needs to deploy 40-90 GW of solar and 70-150 GW of wind energy every year until 2030 to decarbonize its power sector by 2035.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gourav Mishra</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WhatsApp-Image-2022-04-06-at-6.37.25-PM-1-1.jpeg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gourav,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gourav.</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WhatsApp-Image-2022-04-06-at-6.37.25-PM-1-1.jpeg" width="89" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gourav</a> is a staff reporter with Mercom India with over six years of experience in various roles with NewsX, The New Indian Express, IBTimes India, and U.S., Republic, and Analytics India Magazine. Gourav has a Master&#8217;s in journalism from Jain University, Bengaluru. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gourav Mishra</a></div>
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US Announces a $13 Billion Fund to Expand and Modernize Electric Grid


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					</table><p>The Biden-Harris Administration has announced a $350 million fund for Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES) demonstration projects. These storage projects are built to deliver electricity for up to 10 to 24 hours or even longer to support a low-cost, reliable, and carbon-free electric grid.</p>
<p>The LDES Demonstrations Program will be managed by the U.S. Department of Energy&#8217;s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) for up to 11 demonstration projects, which are expected to contribute towards cutting the cost of grid-scale energy storage by 90% by 2030.</p>
<p>The DoE will fund up to 50% of each project&#8217;s cost, including a community benefits plan for each applicant. The program aims to fund projects that will overcome the technical and institutional barriers to full-scale deployment of LDES systems by focusing on various techniques for diverse regions.</p>
<p>Letters of Intent are due by December 15, 2022, and full applications are due by March 3, 2023.</p>
<p>As the U.S. moves towards a carbon-free electric grid that relies on accelerated renewable energy generation, the need for reliable LDES to supply enough energy for long periods when energy generation is either reduced or unavailable becomes critical.</p>
<p>Another part of the projects will be funded by Biden&#8217;s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and is expected to advance new renewable energy tech, enhance customer and communities&#8217; capabilities to integrate grid storage effectively, increase grid resilience and expand the country&#8217;s global leadership in energy storage.</p>
<p>The new investment will also work with the <a href="https://mercomindia.com/inflation-reduction-act-faster-transition-clean-energy-u-s/">Inflation Reduction Act</a>  &#8211; which provides expanded clean energy tax credits for energy storage installation. The initiative is aimed to give businesses the confidence they require to build and deploy innovative clean energy technologies, which are crucial to reaching the administration&#8217;s goal of a carbon-free electric grid by 2035 and a net-zero emissions economy by 2025.</p>
<p>U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said, &#8220;Advancing energy storage technologies is key to making energy generated from clean, renewable resources—like wind and solar—available for 24/7 use and is critical to achieving a decarbonized power grid and reaching President Biden&#8217;s ambitious climate goals.&#8221;</p>
<p>Recently, DoE <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-invoking-defense-production-act-spur-clean-energy-industry/">announced</a> a request for information (RFI) inviting comments to determine how it can best utilize the Cold War-era Defense Production Act to spur domestic production of clean energy technologies and strengthen grid reliability. Earlier in August, it had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-to-invest-23-billion-for-clean-energy-deployment/">launched</a> two new program offices – the Grid Deployment Office and the Office of State and Community Energy Programs – to drive more than $23 billion in investments to expand the power grid capacity and deploy cheaper, cheaper, cleaner energy.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gautamee Hazarika</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gautamee,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee.</a><br />
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<a href="gautamee@mercomindia.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gautamee@mercomindia.com</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">Gautamee</a> is a reporter at Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Gautamee was working as a multimedia news journalist at ThePrint in New Delhi. She has received her Bachelors in English Honors and Masters in English Literature from St.Stephen&#8217;s College, University of Delhi.<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee</a></div>
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US Announces $350 Million for Long-Duration Energy Storage Demonstration Projects


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					</table><p>The U.S. Department of Energy (<a href="https://www.energy.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DOE</a>) has announced a $7 billion funding opportunity to create regional clean hydrogen hubs (H2Hubs) across America.</p>
<p>The funding is part of a larger $8 billion hydrogen hub program funded through President Joe Biden&#8217;s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.</p>
<p>The H2Hubs will help communities across the country benefit from clean energy investments, well-paying jobs, and improved energy security, all supporting the goal of a net-zero carbon economy by 2050.</p>
<p>For this initial funding opportunity launch, DOE aims to select six to ten hubs for a combined total of up to $7 billion in federal funding.</p>
<p>The projects to be funded include community benefits plan to support meaningful community and labor engagement; invest in America&#8217;s workforce; advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; and extend 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities.</p>
<p>U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm observed, &#8220;These H2Hubs are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lay the foundation for the clean hydrogen future President Biden is building— one that will lift our economy, protect the planet, and improve our health. With input from America&#8217;s brightest scientists, engineers, community organizers, and entrepreneurs, this national hydrogen strategy will help us accelerate the development and deployment of technologies to realize the full potential of clean hydrogen energy for generations to come.&#8221;</p>
<p>Hydrogen&#8217;s flexibility makes it an important component of the strategy to achieve a carbon-free grid by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050. Hydrogen is a versatile fuel that can be produced from clean, diverse, and domestic energy resources, including wind, solar, and nuclear.</p>
<p>DOE also released a draft of the National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap for public feedback. It provides an overview of the potential for hydrogen production, transport, storage, and use in the U.S.</p>
<p>Recently, sixteen countries <a href="https://mercomindia.com/16-countries-pledge-94-billion-renewable-demonstration-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">committed</a> $94 billion for clean energy demonstration projects globally at the first-ever Global Clean Energy Action Forum in Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>According to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the hydrogen trade would significantly <a href="https://mercomindia.com/green-hydrogen-trade-low-cost-option/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contribute</a> to a more diversified and resilient energy system. The report highlighted that as hydrogen becomes an internationally traded commodity, its production would witness increased investments, fulfilling the global energy demand totaling around $4 trillion by 2050.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gourav Mishra</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WhatsApp-Image-2022-04-06-at-6.37.25-PM-1-1.jpeg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gourav,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gourav.</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WhatsApp-Image-2022-04-06-at-6.37.25-PM-1-1.jpeg" width="89" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gourav</a> is a staff reporter with Mercom India with over six years of experience in various roles with NewsX, The New Indian Express, IBTimes India, and U.S., Republic, and Analytics India Magazine. Gourav has a Master&#8217;s in journalism from Jain University, Bengaluru. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gourav Mishra</a></div>
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US Announces $7 Billion Funding to Create Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs


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					</table><p>The U.S. Department of Energy (<a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/office-energy-efficiency-renewable-energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DOE</a>) announced the launch of a Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) Accelerator Consortium, a $20 million initiative aiming to rapidly reduce the cost of the second most common photovoltaic (PV) technology in use globally after silicon.</p>
<p>Led by the University of Toledo, First Solar, Colorado State University, Toledo Solar, and Sivananthan Laboratories, the consortium will be administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (<a href="https://www.nrel.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NREL</a>). It will help the country to boost the deployment of American-made solar technologies.</p>
<p>The NREL team aims to make CdTe solar cells more competitive globally. Its broad research plans include CdTe doping strategies and characterizing and exploring new CdTe contacting materials. The DOE is working in collaboration with the NREL to enable a bifacial CdTe module that absorbs light from both the front and back sides of the modules.</p>
<p>The DOE stated that the consortium would work to improve the continued cost and efficiency of the CdTe technology. The consortium comprises experts chosen through a competitive solicitation released by the NREL in 2021.</p>
<p>The $20 million initiative by the DOE will help the U.S. expand the production of CdTe modules and PV material while supporting the domestic CdTe supply chain. To bolster America&#8217;s competitiveness in this technology, NREL will serve as a resource, support, and technical analysis center for the consortium as it develops a technology.</p>
<p>DOE&#8217;s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) supports innovative research to overcome the current technological and commercial barriers to CdTe cells. SETO has also awarded funding for the research, development, and demonstration of methods that would enhance the reliability of the CdTe technology while lowering costs.</p>
<p>The DOE, through NREL and longstanding partnership with First Solar, has been a leader in CdTe technology as CdTe solar cells were first developed in America.</p>
<p>According to DOE, CdTe technology will pave the way for the U.S. solar sector to expand domestic production of panels by limiting the risk of being overtaken by low-cost foreign competition.</p>
<p>Last month, First Solar and French renewable energy developer Akuo <a href="https://mercomindia.com/daily-news-wrap-up-indian-airports-taking-steps-to-reduce-carbon-footprint/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> a deal for the supply of solar modules, leveraging First Solar&#8217;s Cadmium Telluride thin film module technology platform.</p>
<p>The Biden administration <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-56-million-innovation-solar-manufacturing-recycling/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> a $56 million fund for solar manufacturing and recycling, targeting cost-effective energy and creating ample jobs.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gourav Mishra</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WhatsApp-Image-2022-04-06-at-6.37.25-PM-1-1.jpeg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gourav,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gourav.</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WhatsApp-Image-2022-04-06-at-6.37.25-PM-1-1.jpeg" width="89" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gourav</a> is a staff reporter with Mercom India with over six years of experience in various roles with NewsX, The New Indian Express, IBTimes India, and U.S., Republic, and Analytics India Magazine. Gourav has a Master&#8217;s in journalism from Jain University, Bengaluru. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gourav Mishra</a></div>
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US Forms $20 Million Consortium to Accelerate Research in Cadmium Telluride Solar Cells

<p>The U.S. Department of Energy’s <a href="https://www.ameslab.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ames Laboratory</a> and collaborators have developed a new catalyst to extract hydrogen from hydrogen storage materials easily.</p>
<p>Scientists Long Qi and Wenyu Huang, who led the research, developed a new catalyst composed of nitrogen and carbon that does not require metal or additives. The catalyst’s efficiency relies on the structure of nitrogen. The hydrogen extracted was from a class of materials called liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs).</p>
<p>Hydrogen can be stored chemically, and it relies on materials that react with hydrogen molecules and store them as hydrogen atoms like in LOHCs. These carriers can store large amounts of hydrogen in small volumes at ambient temperature. To utilize hydrogen, catalysts are needed to activate LOHCs and release the hydrogen.</p>
<p>Long Qi said, “Basically, just add the new metal-free catalyst into the LOHC, and then the hydrogen gas is just popping out, even at room temperature.”</p>
<p>The catalytic activity could occur at room temperature because of the unique closely spaced graphitic nitrogen as nitrogen assembly was formed during the carbonization process. The nitrogen assembly catalyzes the splitting of carbon-hydrogen bonds in LOHCs and facilitates the desorption of hydrogen molecules.</p>
<p>The researchers said the process occurs at mild temperatures and under normal atmospheric conditions without using metals or additives. The new catalyst offers a promising new solution that addresses long-standing challenges in adopting hydrogen fuel for transportation and other applications.</p>
<p>The researchers explained that there are other dehydrogenation methods. However, some methods rely on metal-based catalysts involving critical platinum group metals. The metals are expensive, and their supply is limited. Other methods require additives to release the hydrogen that is not reusable, resulting in a higher overall cost as they need to be added in each cycle.</p>
<p>The hydrogen storage capacity should be close to 6.5% by weight as per the Department of Energy’s goals for vehicle technology. The researchers are optimistic about meeting the goal with molecules that have a larger capacity.</p>
<p>The researchers said the ease and efficiency of this process could benefit the industry in the future, which comes from using a combination of LOHCs and the new catalyst. The combination would extract usable hydrogen from storage at a lower cost and under milder conditions than existing technologies. A greater hydrogen density can provide a greater charge for hydrogen fuel cells, providing power to vehicles over greater distances.</p>
<p>In October 2021, a team of scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology <a href="https://mercomindia.com/researchers-claim-developed-reactor-effective-hydrogen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> to have developed a prototype reactor that operates under natural sunlight to produce around 6.1 liters of hydrogen in eight hours. The team used carbon nitrides as a catalyst.</p>
<p>Mercom had earlier reported that a research team from Newcastle University, Australia, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/australian-researchers-create-green-hydrogen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">devised</a> a system that uses solar power to conduct electrolysis on water harvested from air to create hydrogen, a low-cost zero-emission fuel.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Harsh Shukla</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Harsh-Shukla-293x300-1-new.jpg" width="99" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Harsh Shukla</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/">More articles from Harsh Shukla.</a></p>
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New Catalyst to Extract Hydrogen from Hydrogen Storage Materials

<p>The <a href="https://www.doe.gov.ph/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Energy</a> of the Philippines, through its Green Energy Auction program, launched an auction to allocate 2 GW of renewable energy capacity across its three main power territories.</p>
<p>The department is expected to allocate 1.26 GW of solar power capacity, 380 MW of wind power, 180 MW of biomass, and 80 MW of hydropower capacity.</p>
<p>Of the 1.26 GW of solar capacity, 900 MW of solar projects will be installed in Luzon, 260 MW in Visayas, and the remaining 100 MW in Mindanao. Meanwhile, Luzon and Visayas will install 360 MW and 20 MW of wind capacity, respectively.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-32288 aligncenter" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Philippines-Tender.jpg" alt="Philippines: Renewable Energy Projects Tendered Under the Green Energy Auction Program " width="344" height="247" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Philippines-Tender.jpg 344w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Philippines-Tender-300x215.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 344px) 100vw, 344px" /></p>
<p>Last month, the Manilla Electricity Company, a Philippines-based power distribution company, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/philippines-issues-tender-renewable-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invited</a> bids to develop 850 MW of renewable energy projects in the country. The tender is expected to deploy 600 MW of renewable power capacity by February 26, 2026. The remaining 250 MW is to be commissioned by February 26, 2027.</p>
<p>The company will sign a 20-year power purchase agreement with the successful bidder.</p>
<p>According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Philippines had 6.83 GW of renewable energy capacity until 2020. It accounted for 27% of the total power generation capacity. Hydropower accounted for 3.02 GW, solar for 1.04 GW, and wind for 443 MW capacity. The country also had 393 MW of bioenergy capacity as of 2020.</p>
<p>In November 2021, the country proposed the National Renewable Energy Program 2020-2040. The program set a target to achieve 35% of renewable energy share in the power generation mix by 2030 and 50% by 2040.</p>
<p>Earlier in 2021, the Philippines <a href="https://mercomindia.com/philippines-issues-tender-renewable-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> guidelines for adopting energy-conserving building design and enhancing the demand for energy-efficient materials and technologies. According to the guidelines issued by the Department of Energy, new and existing buildings must utilize solar energy technologies like solar heaters, solar air-conditioners, solar-powered lighting systems, and wind power systems to reduce commercial energy demand.</p>
<p>Mercom had earlier <a href="https://mercomindia.com/philippines-proposal-solar-rooftop/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the senate of the Philippines announced a proposal to reduce the cost of electricity for households and businesses through the adoption of rooftop solar, which was under scrutiny by the senate committee on energy. The bill sought to mandate all government agencies to install solar energy systems at their respective offices and buildings to supply at least 5% of the energy requirements.</p>
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<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Harsh Shukla</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Harsh-Shukla-293x300-1-new.jpg" width="99" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Harsh Shukla</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/">More articles from Harsh Shukla.</a></p>
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Philippines Launches Tender for 2 GW of Renewables Under its Green Energy Auction Program

<p>Researchers at <a href="https://www.sandia.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sandia National Laboratories</a> have designed a new class of molten sodium batteries for grid-scale energy storage.</p>
<p>The development of the new sodium battery was supported by the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Energy’s</a> Office of Electricity Energy Storage Program.</p>
<p>The findings have been published in the scientific journal <em>Cell Reports Physical Science</em>.</p>
<p>The researchers stated that Sandia’s new molten sodium-iodide battery operates at a much lower 230 degrees Fahrenheit than the commercially available molten sodium batteries, which typically operate at 520-660 degrees Fahrenheit.</p>
<p>“We’ve been working to bring the operating temperature of molten sodium batteries down as low as physically possible,” said Leo Small, the lead researcher on the project. “There’s a whole cascading cost saving that comes along with lowering the battery temperature. You can use less expensive materials. The batteries need less insulation, and the wiring that connects all the batteries can be a lot thinner,” Small added.</p>
<p>According to the researchers, the major innovation that allowed the new molten sodium-iodide battery to operate at a lower temperature was the development of a catholyte. A catholyte is a liquid mixture of two salts: sodium iodide and gallium chloride.</p>
<p>Sandia’s small, lab-scale sodium-iodide battery was rigorously tested for eight months inside an oven. It was charged and discharged more than 400 times.</p>
<p>Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers had to pause the experiment for a month and let the molten sodium and the catholyte cool down to room temperature and freeze. The battery warmed up without much hassle to the researcher’s relief.</p>
<p>According to Erik Spoerke, a materials scientist, sodium-iodide batteries could be used if a large-scale energy disruption were to occur. The sodium-iodide batteries could be allowed to cool until frozen. Once the disruption is over, they could be warmed up, recharged, and returned to regular operation without a lengthy or costly start-up process and without degradation of the battery’s internal chemistry.</p>
<p>Commenting on the safety of sodium-iodide batteries, Spoerke said, “A lithium-ion battery catches on fire when there is a failure inside the battery. We’ve proven that cannot happen with our battery chemistry. Furthermore, at 3.6 volts, the new sodium-iodide battery has a 40% higher operating voltage than a commercial molten sodium battery. This voltage leads to higher energy density. As a result, potential future batteries made with this technology would need fewer cells, fewer connections between cells, and an overall lower unit cost to store the same amount of electricity, Small said.</p>
<p>Commercial molten sodium batteries have a lifespan of 10-15 years, significantly longer than standard lead-acid batteries or lithium-ion batteries.</p>
<p>According to Small, the next step for the sodium-iodide battery project is to refine the catholyte chemistry to replace the gallium chloride component, which is 100 times as expensive as table salt.</p>
<p>The experts are also working on getting the battery to charge and discharge faster.</p>
<p>Spoerke added that it would likely take five to ten years for sodium-iodide batteries to be commercially available.</p>
<p>As the demand for different sustainable energy sources continues to rise worldwide, efforts are underway globally to develop different kinds of batteries for energy storage.</p>
<p>Last year, U.K.-based Faradion Ltd, a manufacturer of sodium-ion batteries, had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/faradion-inks-deal-indian-startup/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> a partnership with Infraprime Logistics Technologies to provide batteries for commercial vehicles in the Indian electric vehicle market.</p>
<p>Earlier, researchers at the Washington State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/rresearchers-announce-cheapersodium-ion-battery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">created</a> a sodium-ion battery that could be made with widely and cheaply available materials.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Arjun Joshi</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Arjun Joshi,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="86" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Arjun Joshi</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, he worked as a technical writer for enterprise resource software companies based in India and abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Psychology, and Optional English from Garden City University, Bangalore. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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