Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Australia’s only solar panel manufacturer, has launched its first module designed specifically for utility-scale projects, the 545W Karra module. Australia-made, the module boasts a 23.1% cell efficiency with a low cell-to-module loss rate of 0.07%.

HyET Solar and the Delft University of Technology are developing a photovoltaic foil technology that is claimed to be suitable for any type of surface. The solar foil has a 12.0% conversion efficiency and is based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon and nanocrystalline silicon in a tandem cell configuration.

The floater consists of a structure made of HDPE plastic which is claimed to withstand waves of up to 3m and currents of up to 2m/s. According to the manufacturer — Austrian tech company SolOcean — the floating structure can be used for either onshore or offshore projects.

The Korean manufacturer said its solar module business will be closed by the end of June. It blamed uncertainties in the global solar industry for its decision.

Fusion Fuel Green has developed a small PEM electrolyzer that will be used in a green hydrogen project in Iberia. Elsewhere, India’s Adani Group and Canada-based PEM fuel cell producer Ballard Power Systems have signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate a joint investment in the commercialization of hydrogen fuel cells for mobility and industrial applications in India.

Panel maker Trina Solar and wafer manufacturing compatriot Shuangliang Eco-Energy have announced bumper profits from last year as polysilicon producer GCL ponders a rebrand.

French start-up Solar Cloth is planning to scale up capacity at its module production facility near Cannes. The factory will produce 17.6%-efficient flexible solar modules integrated into textile supports.

The price of polysilicon last week reached its highest level since 2011 and, according to Chinese module manufacturer JinkoSolar, there are no visible signs that it could drop this year, as predicted by several analysts.

Shipping containers storing roughly 100MW of LONGi solar modules have been released, reports ROTH Capital Partners in an industry note, while Trina has had the vast majority of its detained product released, if not all of it entirely.

SPI Solar plans to begin manufacturing solar panels in California using the existing production lines at the former Sunergy PV solar plant, boosting capacity to 1.1GW in Q3.