Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

The all-black series includes a monofacial PERC module with an efficiency of up to 20.86% and an n-type heterojunction product with an efficiency of 21.68%. Both products feature all-black integrated design, with black backsheet, black busbar, black frame and black encapsulant material.

Mahindra Group has agreed to sell a 30% equity stake in Mahindra Susten to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan for around $300 million. The two parties have also agreed to set up an infrastructure investment trust so Mahindra Susten can strengthen its solar, hybrid energy, and integrated storage businesses, as well as its round-the-clock green energy plants.

Korean scientists have built a wafer scale radial junction solar cell with tapered microwires and a surface passivation layer made of aluminum oxide. The device showed the highest power conversion efficiency among the previously reported microwire solar cells.

A Dutch research group has developed a passivation technique for heterojunction solar cells based on a hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer. Their cell achieved an in-house-certified power conversion efficiency of 24.18%, an open-circuit voltage of 726.0 mV, a short-circuit current of 39.97 mA/cm2, and a fill factor of 83.3%.

Researchers at the University of Leicester have developed a new method of extracting silver and aluminum from end-of-life PV cells using iron chloride and aluminum chloride dissolved in brines. According to them, the cheap solvents retrieve up to 95% of the metals within 10 minutes, achieving a 98% purity of silver chloride.

Paired Power said its new 5 kW solar canopy measures 3.2 meters x 5.2 meters x 3.7 meters and can host up to 10 bifacial solar panels. It can be used in on-grid or off-grid modes and can be paired with lithium-ion battery storage systems up to 40 kWh in size.

Chinese researchers have used inverted perovskite cells with a p-i-n structure to build a perovskite solar module with a reduced heat-affected zone. The panel achieved a power conversion efficiency of 21.07% and a geometric fill factor of 95.5%.

Swedish researchers have developed a model to analyze the microclimate parameters of a vertically mounted agrivoltaic system. They validated their model by comparing its estimations with measurements of solar irradiance, PV module temperature, and ground temperature.

Chinese researchers have built a perovskite quantum dot solar cell that is reportedly able to reduce trap-assisted charge carrier recombination. The device has an open-circuit voltage of 1.23 V, a short-circuit current density of 17.73 mA cm−2, and a fill factor of 0.745.

SolarBotanic Trees will begin offering its solar trees in early 2023. The systems will use monocrystalline cells with an efficiency of up to 24%, encapsulated in a 3D shape.