Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Huawei has strengthened its technology partnership with Chint, while TBEA is planning an IPO for its polysilicon unit Xinte Energy. Furthermore, glass manufacturers keep acting to overcome current bottleneck.

German scientists have fabricated an enhanced amorphous germanium PV cell that confines light in an ultra-thin absorber. It has the potential to combine PV with photosynthesis in new solar applications on bio-reactors, greenhouses, and agricultural land.

The German research institute has proposed a technique based on the surface structure of the wings of the morpho butterfly to produce colored BIPV panels for facades and rooftops. The process is claimed to make it possible to color the modules with an optical effect and not with color pigments, which reduce their efficiency.

Some 15% of the finance disbursed must fit the wider definition of being ‘sustainable’ and banks and other lenders have been warned penalties will be applied for non compliance.

International researchers have developed a silicon heterojunction PV cell with textured surfaces to accommodate the perovskite top cell. They optimized the rear transparent electrode to collect as much albedo as possible and achieved five different perovskite bandgaps by altering the iodide-to-bromide ratio in the perovskites, resulting in a higher open-circuit voltage.

In the first instance, the Düsseldorf Regional Court in Germany ruled in favor of Hanwha Q-Cells, but Longi Solar has appealed the judgment. There is also still a struggle for the validity of the patent between the photovoltaic companies at the European Patent Office. In addition to Longi Solar, REC is also reporting another partial success in the legal dispute with the South Korean photovoltaic manufacturer.

Dutch company Rads Global Business has developed an anti-soiling coating for solar PV modules that is claimed to reduce cleaning cost by around 60%. The anti-reflective and anti-corrosive coating is also said to mitigate potential-induced degradation (PID).

Japanese scientists have fabricated a prototype CPV panel that could be applied on spherical surfaces with a curvature radius of 100 mm, and under outdoor one-sun irradiation. The module is based on a silicone concentrator lens, a thermoplastic polyurethane sheet, and a rigid III–V triple-junction solar cell.

The solar cell manufacturing facility, located in China’s Yunnan Province, is expected to raise Jinko’s cell capacity to 30 GW by the end of 2021.

Australian scientists have built a perovskite solar cell based on 2D and 3D salts. By adding a fluorinated lead salt in the processing solution – normally used to form 3D methylammonium lead iodide – they were able to achieve a 21.1% efficiency, an open-circuit voltage of 1.12 V, a short-circuit current of 22.4 mA/cm2, and a fill factor of 84%.