Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

The Japanese electronics manufacturer has launched the NU-JC440 and NU-JC430B panels with efficiencies of 22.53% and 22.02%, respectively. Both products are IEC/EN61215 and IEC/EN61730-certified and rely on M10 wafers.

A U.S. research team has investigated the thermomechanical reliability of metal halide perovskite (MHP) modules and cells in an effort to identify the best strategies to improve their stability under thermomechanical stressors. The scientists discussed, in particular, film stresses, adhesion of charge transport layers, and instability under light and heat.

Solarwatt says it will shut down its battery factory in Germany. Battery production at the Dresden facility will halt at the end of this year, and the company will move all battery and solar panel production to China.

Scientists in South Africa have modeled a photovoltaic system connected to a thermoelectric cooling device and have found it may produce around 9.2% more electricity than conventional PV system without cooling. The research team claims the proposed system guarantees a minimum cost saving of 10.56%.

India’s solar module exports hit $1.9 billion in fiscal 2023-24, with shipments to the US market accounting for the lion’s share of the total.

A Chinese research group including scientists from module maker Tongwei has designed a perovskite solar cell with remarkable perovskite film quality through the so-called self-disintegrating seed strategy. The device not only achieved one of the highest fill factor values ever recorded for perovskite solar to date, but also showed remarkable stability.

Wood Mackenzie says in its latest report that low prices and integrated supply chains allow Chinese manufacturers to supply more than 65% of total global demand for renewables equipment, with its exports growing by 35% between 2019 and 2023.

Researchers in Nigeria have proposed to build inverted perovskite solar cells exclusively with all-inorganic transport materials and a lead-free perovksite absorber. Through a series of simulations, they showed these device may achieve efficiencies over 30% with low production costs.

U.S. scientists have developed a thermophovoltaic cell that could be paired with inexpensive thermal storage to provide power on demand. The indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) thermophovoltaic cell absorbs most of the in-band radiation to generate electricity, while serving as a nearly perfect mirror.

The versatility of solar mounting manufacturer and balance-of-system provider Clenergy’s ezShade 2.0 solar shade system has been put to the test with the solution at the core of a standalone power system fuelling an off-grid communications site in remote northern Queensland.