Weekend Read: As simple as IBC
The search for ever higher conversion efficiency has driven solar researchers to focus on back-contact cell approaches, and efforts to devise more cost-effective manufacturing are bringing technologies such as interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar into the mainstream, as Mark Hutchins reports.
Hounen to build 1 GW solar module factory in US
China-based module manufacturer Huonen Solar said it wants to build a panel manufacturing facility in Orangeburg, South Carolina. The factory will produce modules for the US market.
Light redirecting film to improve heterojunction solar module performance
Finnish technology company Intelligent Control Systems has conceived a light redirecting film that purportedly reduces energy losses in the edge area of heterojunction solar cells. It claims the film may increase the power conversion efficiency of a heterojunction module by up to 0.75%.
Kesterite solar cell with transparent electrode achieves 11.4% efficiency
Chinese researchers fabricated a kesterite PV device using a transparent fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate instead of substrates based on opaque Mo-coated soda lime glass. The cell has an open-circuit voltage of 0.522 V, a short-circuit current of 33.0 mA cm−2, and a fill factor of 68.55%.
Common misconceptions about residential PV
More and more people want to invest in PV arrays and battery storage systems. However, there are a number of myths that could lead to disappointment among customers, according to one German consumer association.
Reshoring of US solar manufacturing
The Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) latest white paper on solar and storage manufacturing includes an interactive map. It shows that momentum has started to build for a transformational expansion of domestic solar and storage manufacturing.
Huasun begins mass production of 25% efficiency bifacial heterojunction solar cells
Huasun has switched on the manufacturing lines for its new heterojunction module factory in China’s Anhui province.
Belinus unveils shingle solar panels with 20.1% efficiency
Belgium-based Belinus says its new PV modules feature a nominal power rating of 420 W and a power conversion efficiency of 20.1%. It says plans are also in place to build a 500 MW solar panel factory at an unspecified Belgian site.
Zendure introduces residential batteries for balcony solar modules
Zendure’s SolarFlow batteries have capacities of 960 Wh and can be stacked up to 3,849 Wh. The US manufacturer wants to begin selling the plug-and-play systems in April.
CEA-INES, Enel achieve 26.5% efficiency for tandem perovskite-silicon solar cell
CEA-INES researchers and Enel have developed a new solar cell with an active area of 9 cm² and an open-circuit voltage above 1,880 mV. Their results improve on the 25.8% efficiency they achieved for the same kind of cell in December 2022.
