Polysilicon and wafer manufacturer ranking: PV demand reached record levels in 2017, with global installations surpassing 100 GW for the first time ever. Few in the industry expected deployments to hit this level, piling the pressure on to the supply chain. Armed with polysilicon and wafer manufacturer ranking data supplied by IHS Markit, pv magazine delves into the past year’s upstream landscape.

Scientists led by Brown University have developed perovskite solar cells, which replace the toxic lead common to many of these material structures with titanium. The researchers say that with further optimization, the material could eventually be ideal for use as a tandem cell layer.

A new report from the Asia Europe Clean Energy Associates (AECEA) expects solar to overtake wind energy in 2018 as China’s third largest source of power generation. AECEA is calling 2018 a ‘transition year’ for PV in China, as new regulations reshape the market, which is still expected to reach 250 GW installed capacity by the end of 2020.

Trina Solar has set a new record of 25.04% total area efficiency for an n-type interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cell. The record has been independently verified by Japan Electric Safety and Environmental Technology Laboratory.

A team of scientists from the U.S. University of Rochester has developed a compound, which it says could double the effectiveness of redox flow batteries, and “transform the energy storage landscape”.

German PV equipment manufacturer, teamtechnik today announced that it has received an order for its TT1400 ECA stringer from an Italian PV manufacturer. The tool will be integrated into a line producing high efficiency heterojunction PV modules.

Norwegian headquartered manufacturer, REC Silicon has posted revenue of $78 million for the fourth quarter of 2017, a 3.4% increase over the previous quarter’s $75.5 million. The company also increased its EBITDA to $10.3 million, up from $3.6 million the previous quarter.

Scientists from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory have a created a perovskite solar cell, which retained 94% of its initial efficiency after 1,000 hours of constant operation under ambient air conditions.

The Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) today announced a 9.09% increase to FIT rates originally proposed in September for rooftop solar installations up 20 kW, in a bid to encourage further public participation in its Green Energy Roofs project.

Scientists from the renowned U.S. Berkeley Laboratory have discovered a perovskite material, which can be used in photovoltaic glass applications, and can be switched between transparent and non-transparent without diminishing its electronic properties.