Manufacturing

Organic Electronics Technologies (OET) has announced the start of a European-funded project that will develop and build an automated manufacturing production line for integrated printed organic photovoltaics in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Scientists in Switzerland and South Korea looked deep into the crystalline structure of a perovskite thin-film to better understand the mechanisms behind the sensitivity to heat and moisture that causes so many stability issues for solar cells based on these materials. They discovered a part of the crystal’s surface that is particularly vulnerable to moisture-induced degradation, and developed an approach to grow perovskite thin-films with strong resistance to moisture and thermal stress.

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) may install a new R&D production line in its solar R&D center at the massive 5 GW Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

UK scientists have discovered that second-life batteries could provide a lower levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) than conventional batteries in school buildings equipped with PV in East African schools. They said the cheapest system configuration uses either 7.5 kW or 10 kW of solar with 20 kWh of storage.

Qcells will provide US-made solar modules and perform engineering, procurement, and construction for Microsoft’s solar projects.

Germany’s Fraunhofer FEP has unveiled a dirt-repellent coating for solar panels. The material is reportedly able to acquire superhydrophilic properties at night and wash away the dirt through the beading raindrops.

Researchers say that lightweight, high-performance perovskite solar modules could soon become competitive with crystalline PV modules in the residential segment, as such products will likely have lower manufacturing and balance-of-system costs in the future.

A recent Wood Mackenzie report looks at trends and challenges in the burgeoning US solar market, including manufacturing stimulated by the US Inflation Reduction Act.

Researchers from Victoria’s Deakin University say they have successfully tested a new process that can safely and effectively extract silicon from end-of-life solar panels, and then convert it into nano materials worth more than $45,000 (USD 31,500) per kilogram, in order to build better batteries.

Germany’s TÜV Rheinland said it will invest €22 million in the 5,000 m2 facility for testing photovoltaic modules as part of a massive lab.