‘Extraordinary week’ capped off with PV-IPCEI launch in Brussels
The PV-IPCEI event hosted by the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) took place on May 20 in a narrow wood-paneled room of Brussels’ Art Deco Residence Palace.
Heterojunction solar cell with 25.18% efficiency, 85.42% fill factor
Researchers in China have fabricated a heterojunction solar cell with a 244.63 cm2 Czochralski n-c-Si wafer. They used light soaking to improve the dark conductance of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon films.
Upcycling silicon waste from end-of-life solar panels into thermoelectrics
Researchers in Singapore have developed a new technique in which polycrystalline silicon is pulverized into powder and pelletized into ingots. The process relies on spark plasma sintering to dope the silicon with germanium and phosphorus.
Siemens, ABB invests in Norwegian battery company
Startup Morrow Batteries has raised €100 million ($105.9 million) in a funding round led by Siemens and ABB. It will use the money to build its first battery cell factory in Norway, its home market.
New Australian prime minister vows to turn nation into renewables ‘superpower’
Australia’s new prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has promised to make the nation a “renewable energy superpower,” following the Labor Party’s federal election victory on the weekend.
Ireland allocates 1.53 GW of PV in second renewables auction
The final average price in Ireland’s latest procurement exercise came in at €0.09787 ($0.103)/kWh. Wind developers secured 414 MW in the auction.
Bifacial solar modules shine in snowy environments
Snow losses could be cut from double digits to just 2% on an annual basis by using bifacial solar modules instead of monofacial panels, according to researchers at Western University in Canada.
UK group developing floating organic flow battery storage project
MSE international and its partners have concluded the feasibility study for an organic large-scale flow battery project in Portsmouth, England. The 650 kW/6.1 MWh project might end up having have a lower levelized cost of electricity than lithium-ion or vanadium redox flow batteries.
Photovoltaic sanitary water heater from Belgium
Belgian heating specialist Wanit has developed a solar water heater that purportedly reduces the cost of domestic hot water by 85%. The PV water heater solution includes a main dual tank and a solar connector that links the tank with a rooftop PV system and residential battery.
The Hydrogen Stream: Cobalt-based single-atomic catalysts with 40% improved performance
South Korean researchers have developed an atomic cobalt-based catalyst technology that is suitable for catalyst development in a range of fields, including fuel cells, water electrolysis, solar cells, and petrochemicals. The European Commission, meanwhile, has announced plans to support green hydrogen.
