Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Scientists in China built a four-terminal perovskite-CIGS tandem solar cell based on a top semi-transparent perovskite device with an efficiency of 21.26% and a high bifaciality factor of 92.2%. They used a solvent-annealing strategy to produce a perovskite film with full coverage, larger grains, superior crystallinity and free of detectable lead iodide impurity.

More than 100 companies from eight different countries exhibited at InterSolution 2025, the largest solar energy trade fair for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

An international team of industry and researchers is developing technology and methods to improve the industry’s ability to recycle decommissioned solar panels, avoiding waste and targeting recovery of silicon, silver, glass, and polymers with a purity sufficient for further use in the PV industry or beyond.

The European Commission says 41 cross-border energy projects will receive €1.25 billion ($1.3 billion) in funding, with one-fifth allocated to hydrogen, while Lhyfe has started building its fifth hydrogen production site in northern France, set to provide green hydrogen by 2026.

AREP, a subsidiary of French railway operator SNCF, has deployed a prototype of a mini-reversible solar power plant on non-running rails to test it for six months. The solution is shipped in standardized ISO containers including inverters and storage batteries.

The Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute (ZAG) has introduced a fire safety test that simulates a fire starting on the roof membrane beneath a PV system. The researchers noted the importance of realistic construction methods, including factors such as anchors, adhesives, membrane welding, and ballast use.

Scientists in Spain have used genetic algorithms to optimize a feedforward artificial neural network for the prediction of energy generation of PV systems. Genetic algorithms use “parents” and “offspring” solutions to achieve better results in subsequent generations.”

TU Delft researchers have investigated for the first time the effect rear irradiance has on the optimal bandgap energy and thickness of the perovskite cell in a bifacial two-terminal perovskite-silicon tandem module. Their findings show that bifacial tandems have over a 25% gain in energy yield compared to bifacial single junction modules and up to 5% gain compared to monofacial tandem modules.

Jupiter International says it will invest INR 20.05 billion ($231.4 million) to build a solar factory in India. The facility will produce 4.2 GW of solar cells and 3.6 GW of modules per year.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.