Saturday, 12 September 2026

NLR and the University of Hawaii have deployed a wave energy device built to capture operational data and share it with the marine energy industry, according to CleanTechnica.

The device is the Small Underwater Research Flap Wave Energy Converter, or SURF-WEC, which converts wave motion into electricity, CleanTechnica reported.

Data capture and release to the wider marine energy sector is part of the stated purpose of the deployment, per the same report.

Skyborn Renewables has reached financial close on the 976.5 MW Gennaker offshore wind farm in Germany's Baltic Sea, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The project will use 63 turbines and is expected to produce around 3.8 TWh of electricity a year, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

Construction is underway, with commercial operations targeted for late 2028. Skyborn secured the construction permit in December 2025, according to the same report.

Madagascar consumed barely 2.5 TWh of electricity in recent years while its population approaches 34 million, according to pv magazine. Depending on how electrification is interpreted, as little as 14% of the population could be considered electrified, pv magazine reported.

Supply failures have already carried political consequences. Recurring rolling blackouts and water shortages drove the political unrest at the end of 2025 that led to the exile of former president André Rajoelina and a temporary takeover by the army, per pv magazine.

A consortium has responded with hybrid generation. Enerdeal, now a Belgian subsidiary of Portuguese utility EDP, leads the group alongside Becquerel Institute and several additional players, pv magazine reported. The projects pair solar PV systems, and in some cases battery storage, with existing diesel generators, and have been implemented in five locations in the country.

Spanish shipyard GONDAN Shipbuilders has launched a 120-metre Ocean Energy Support Vessel for Østensjø Rederi, the largest ship the yard has built, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The hull, designated C513, went into the water at GONDAN's Figueras facility. Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported that final outfitting and sea trials come next, with delivery scheduled for late 2027.

Salt Ship Design drew the vessel. Its beam measures 23 meters, and it carries 1,400 square meters of open deck space including the hangar, with berths for up to 173 people, per Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The order extends a working relationship of more than 20 years: Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported the ship is the 23rd GONDAN has built for Østensjø Rederi.

Rocket Lab's IMM Apex space solar cell reaches a beginning-of-life conversion efficiency of 31.5%, according to pv magazine.

The cell is designed without germanium substrates, which pv magazine reports removes exposure to critical-mineral supply chain bottlenecks.

Production is being scaled at the company's space power manufacturing facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, pv magazine reported.

The United States installed 19.2 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in the first half of 2026, according to the US Solar Market Insight report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, as cited by pv magazine.

Second-quarter additions came to 11.4 GW, a 45% increase against the same quarter a year earlier, pv magazine reported.

The segment breakdown behind that quarter shows utility-scale volume up 61% over Q2 2025, with commercial installations up 11%, according to pv magazine.

The first-half additions lifted cumulative installed solar PV capacity in the country to approximately 298 GW at the end of H1 2026, pv magazine reported.

Hive Hydrogen South Africa has contracted Topsoe to supply an 850 MW solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) package and an ammonia synthesis loop for its Coega Green Ammonia Project, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

Hydrogen Fuel News put the value of the Topsoe contract at about USD 1 billion. The award lifts total investment in the project to USD 5.8 billion.

The plant sits in the Coega Special Economic Zone in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa. Once running, it targets output of around one million tonnes of green ammonia per year, Hydrogen Fuel News reported.

The developer is working toward a final investment decision in 2026.

Michigan is putting USD 7.5 million into the search for naturally occurring geologic hydrogen, according to Hydrogen Fuel News, with the money covering subsurface mapping, test wells and regulatory readiness under a statewide clean energy initiative.

The commitment runs through the Make It in Michigan Competitiveness Fund and is managed by the Michigan Infrastructure Office, Hydrogen Fuel News reported.

Work under the program is directed at mapping and characterizing key subsurface formations across Michigan's Lower Peninsula, with test wells drilled into those formations, per Hydrogen Fuel News.

Green hydrogen producer Lhyfe is transferring its share listing off the regulated Euronext Paris market and onto Euronext Growth Paris, the SME Growth segment, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

The company is making the switch to cut compliance costs and match a listing venue to its SME growth profile, Hydrogen Fuel News reported. Shareholders keep their ISIN and their access to the stock through the transfer.

The move follows a year in which Lhyfe held revenues flat at EUR 9.8 million, per Hydrogen Fuel News. Over the same period the producer booked a net loss of EUR 51 million.

Plug-in solar is now legal under statutes passed in ten US states, pv magazine reported, adding that further states are close behind.

The first of those statutes came out of Utah, where lawmakers cleared portable solar generation devices in May 2025, according to pv magazine.

Uptake is strongest among people who cannot install a conventional rooftop array. pv magazine cited renters, temporary workers and low-income households facing high electricity bills as the groups turning to plug-in units, which it described as portable and cheap to buy.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is opening a USD 12 million funding opportunity for space-based solar power technologies, according to pv magazine. The solicitation is open to research laboratories and companies across the country.

DOE will make seven to eleven awards in total, split across two tracks of topic areas, pv magazine reported.

The larger share sits with Topic 1, Next-generation Cell Innovation, where DOE anticipates USD 8 million spread across five to nine awards, according to pv magazine. Topic 2, Rapid Production and Demonstration, is set to draw USD 4 million across two to three awards.

Applications close at 11:59 p.m. ET on October 8, 2026, per pv magazine. Selections are expected in December 2026.

The cost gap is the target. III-V solar technologies perform reliably and have shown the ability to last 15 or more years in space, but remain expensive at over 100 times the cost of terrestrial technology, pv magazine reported. DOE's stated priorities for the solicitation are mass, radiation tolerance, and durability in space solar cell manufacturing.

A technical audit by GIZ and LBST concluded that the design of a green ammonia project in Morocco can satisfy EU standards for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO), while identifying shortfalls in metering, data handling and regulatory coverage, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

The audited site sits in southern Morocco and pairs dedicated solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind farms with alkaline electrolysers feeding a Haber-Bosch synthesis loop, Hydrogen Fuel News reported.

The review was initiated through Germany's H2Uppp programme and examined the requirements set out in Delegated Regulations 2023/1184 and 2023/1185, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

HyCentA Research GmbH is putting EUR 6.6 million into a liquid hydrogen research and test laboratory in the Ennshafen area of Enns, Upper Austria, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

The site will let researchers validate components and systems at the extreme cold of liquid hydrogen, near -253°C, Hydrogen Fuel News reported.

Operations are expected to start in the first quarter of 2027, per the same report.

BMIMI, FFG and TEST-FUCHS are backing the project, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

Uniper SE has closed Phase 1 of the open season for its planned ammonia-to-hydrogen import terminal at Wilhelmshaven, collecting binding capacity reservations and expressions of interest from industrial and trading partners sufficient to advance the project to Phase 2, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

The modular terminal is designed to take in up to 2.6 million tonnes of clean ammonia a year, used as a hydrogen carrier, Hydrogen Fuel News reported.

That volume converts to roughly 350,000 tonnes of pipeline-grade hydrogen annually, per the same report.

Yanmar Power Solutions has secured DNV Type Approval for its GH-FC Series maritime hydrogen fuel cell system in Osaka, Japan, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

The certification covers modular power units rated from 80 to 320 kW, which Hydrogen Fuel News reported meet DNV guidelines for fuel cell installations and hydrogen-fueled vessels.

The certified business unit is itself new. Hydrogen Fuel News reported that a corporate reorganization at Yanmar earlier in the year created Yanmar Power Solutions.