Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Through a conventional coloring technique for crystalline solar modules, scientists in Germany were able to manufacture a colorized small perovskite solar module in white marble optic displays that maintains up to 88.5% of the efficiency it had before coloring. The device was built with five cells interconnected in series and has a total area of 9cm².

Quantum dots, a type of semiconductor based on tiny nanometer sized particles, are a cause for excitement in many disciplines thanks to their unique electronic properties. In solar cell technology, quantum dots fabricated from perovskites could have several advantages over more commonly researched “bulk” perovskite materials, and researchers are beginning to take note of these. A group of scientists in China evaluated recent progress in perovskite quantum dot solar cells, noting both strong potential and a long way to go for this early-stage technology.

BloombergNEF’s Jenny Chase has surveyed the state of affairs in world solar for clean energy journal Joule and said the technology’s historic ability to surmount obstacles – and persistently confound analysts’ predictions – should offer a reason for hope.

JA Solar is expected to put another 3.5GW of cell capacity into operation by the end of June and Hong Kong-based IDG Energy Investment will venture into cell manufacturing by establishing a “foreign invested” project company.

Hyundai wants to use a partnership with South Korean PV equipment supplier Jusung Engineering to commercialize solar modules based on 24.45%-efficient heterojunction solar cells.

Jackery displayed its latest portable solar generators at the recent Quartzsite RV Show, which is the world’s largest event for recreational vehicle enthusiasts.

The Indian solar company’s new facility in Haryana is equipped to make mono PERC, half-cut, multi-busbar technology, to produce high-efficiency PV modules with 530-610Wp of power output.

Perovskite-silicon tandem cells offer one of the surest pathways to much higher solar efficiencies, one that has moved close to commercialization in the past few years. Much of the work getting to this stage has naturally focused on developing a viable perovskite top cell. Optimizations to the silicon layer underneath, however, will also be important to the overall device function and efficiency. Scientists in Germany examined five different silicon cell concepts similar to those in mass production today, finding that with a few optimizations these could reach efficiencies up to 30.4%.

Led by German research institute Fraunhofer ISE, the consortium has built the solar cells with 100% crystalline silicon recycled from end-of-life photovoltaic panels. The silicon is recycled through a technique conceived by German specialist Reiling GmbH & Co. KG and the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP.

Researchers in Japan have used heat-shrinkable polymers to laminate organic photovoltaics onto curved surfaces. The process improves efficiency while minimizing damage to photovoltaic components.