The German inverter maker struggled after China’s announcement at the end of May drove down prices and markets around the world and left a clear mark on its figures. Both the commercial PV segment and the storage business fell short of expectations due to delivery bottlenecks.

Germany’s new energy law includes tenders for large-scale PV that could bring around 4 GW of new capacity online. Carsten Körnig, MD of the German Solar Association, told pv magazine the tenders could generate turnover of up to €4.5 billion for EPC contractors.

According to the Taiwanese analysts, JA Solar was number two, followed by Hanwha Q-Cells and Trina Solar in joint third. The ten largest module makers met around 70% of demand, with 66 GW of shipments.

German and Greek scientists are working with industrial partners on the technological feasibility of making solar modules based on perovskite absorbers. The prototypes should be freely configurable in size, shape and color.

The Munich-based chemical company posted an increase in sales but the fall in polysilicon prices last year and the temporary closure of US production after a hydrogen explosion had a significant impact on the results.

The South Korean PV manufacturer has finalized its plan to merge with Hanwha Solar. The company will no longer be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange and will continue as a wholly owned subsidiary of Hanwha Chemicals.

Two power-to-gas projects promise to improve the technology. In Brandenburg, Edis and Gasag want to transform renewable power into hydrogen, driving sectoral coupling. And Sunfire has switched on its first co-electrolysis project.

The Dutch PV equipment provider will supply 15 vacuum coating systems for a planned 500 MW production capacity of cadmium telluride thin film modules. The value of the contract is more than €40 million.

The German subsidiary of the Chinese Chint Group will be restructured. The German site will in future focus on marketing and sales as well as areas such as customer care, logistics, customs clearance and other business-related services for European and global customers. More than 200 of the 230 employees will lose their jobs when production stops.

At a storage fair in Dusseldorf, researchers will present a ceramic high-temperature battery. Storage costs using sodium-nickel-chloride battery cells are said to be 50% lower than those of lithium-ion.