Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Developed by a US-Saudi research group, the novel technique employs two 45-degree inclined mirrors on the two sides of a PV module. On the back side, a spectral selective reflector enables the thermal radiation to be directed to the sky while preventing the back of a module from heating up by the scattered sunlight.

The result was certified by Fraunhofer ISE CalLab. The cell uses a top inverted PV device using an electron transport layer made of thermally evaporated buckminsterfullerene (C60) with minimized parasitic optical absorption.

Enel has obtained €560 million ($610.2 million) for a solar module factory it is building in Catania, Sicily.

Wood Mackenzie says the solar industry has reached a new stage in its evolution and is predicting around 350 GW of global solar installations annually for the next eight years. The research firm is also forecasting challenges for the solar manufacturing sector and long-awaited benefits from the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States.

An international research team built the triple-junction device with dual bulk and interface passivation technique aimed at promoting halide homogeneity at the interface between the perovskite absorber and the hole-transport-layer. The 0.049 cm2 cell achieved a remarkable open-circuit voltage of 3.33 V and was also able to retain 80% of its initial efficiency after 200 h of continuous maximum power point tracking.

The Chinese manufacturer said its new TSM-NEG9RC.27 and TSM-NEG18R.28 combine n-type technology with 210mm rectangular silicon wafer (210R) cell technology. Their temperature coefficient is -0.29% per C and their efficiency can reach up to 22.3% and 22.7%, respectively.

Huasun, a Chinese heterojunction module specialist, says it has invested CNY 5.4 billion ($761.2 million) in its new new 3.6 GW solar factory.

Flaxres says it will leverage Hyundai’s capabilities to expand its business outside of Germany. The company has developed a solar module recycling technology that is based on short-term high-temperature heating using flash lamps.

With so much of the space in United States cities allocated for parking, the dual pronged approach of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – production tax credits to drive investment in domestic manufacturing and investment tax credits to attract consumer-side investment – means solar canopies can make a huge contribution to the net zero drive.

An international research team has demonstrated, for the first time, the technical feasibility of solar cells relying on absorbers made of silver, barium, titanium, and selenium (Ag2BaTiSe4). The simulations showed these devices may reach efficiencies of up to 29.8% and be based on different buffer layer materials.