Ocean-going saildrones tap solar, wind for long-duration monitoring
The U.S.-based ocean technology company has developed a range of data-collecting uncrewed surface vehicles (USV) powered by solar and wind. They are designed to operate in harsh maritime conditions, above and below the sea surface, to carry out science, commercial, and defense missions.
AGC Automotive’s solar roof for passenger cars is ready for mass production
The Belgium-based company announced that its panorama-style solar roof for passenger cars is ready for mass production. The glass-glass design features high-efficiency back contact solar cells and a uniform full black appearance.
Indian scientists build near-infrared transparent inverted perovskite solar cell with 16.5% efficiency
The team produced a 16.53% inverted 1.08 cm2 perovskite solar cell using atomic layer deposition to apply a buffering layer of tin oxide to prevent electrode sputtering damage.
Automating perovskite solar cell materials research
A Danish research group is working on an automated material discovery and performance optimization platform for perovskite solar cells. The scientists claim a unique combination of robotics, advanced measurement equipment, and machine learning.
Tongwei achieves 31.4% efficiency for perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell
Chinese researchers, led by a research team from PV Technology Center of Tongwei Co., Ltd, used a sequential annealing process in the fabrication of tandem solar cells, featuring a wide bandgap perovskite top cell on a fully-textured commercial crystalline silicon heterojunction bottom cell. The resulting device had a certified power conversion efficiency of 31.4%, outperforming a 29.43%-efficient control cell.
First attempt to build lead-free perovskite-CIGS tandem solar cells
Indian researchers simulated a novel pairing of a CsGeI3 lead-free halide perovskite top cell with a copper-indium-gallium-selenide bottom cell. The resulting tandem device has the potential to achieve a power conversion efficiency of 26.06%
PVFarm enhances tracker, terrain tools for large-scale PV planning
The U.S. software company has improved its single-axis tracker and fixed tilt configurators for planning large-scale projects, adding customization features and additional support for terrain-conforming designs.
Scientists design lead-free 2T all-perovskite tandem solar cell with potential 28.22% efficiency
The proposed tandem features a wide bandgap antimony-doped Cs2AgBiBr6 (specifically Cs2AgBi0.75Sb0.25Br6) top cell and a narrow bandgap formamidinium tin iodide (FASnI3) bottom device.
Improving roll-to-roll slot-die coating via machine learning
University of Sheffield researchers developed a machine learning framework to improve coating properties in a roll-to-roll slot die coating process. The work is seen as an initial step toward broader use of machine learning and related technologies to assist with optimization.
PV Hardware offers new terrain-following tracker solution
The Spain-based manufacturer announced terrain-conforming tracker support, enabling up to 2° of variation between posts. The new solution is meant to enable solar PV on more difficult sites without increasing environmental impact or construction costs.
