Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

The rollout marks one of the largest live-event deployments of mobile solar today and offers a high-profile test for organic, ink-based photovoltaics.

Researchers in Germany have unveiled new high-efficiency, micro concentrator photovoltaics technology that taps established micro-components manufacturing processes to enable lower costs. A demonstrator relying on the micro-CPV module achieved efficiency of 36% based on IEC62670-3 concentrator standard test conditions.

Wuxi Dk Electronic Materials Co., Ltd. (DKEM) is acquiring a 60% stake in Solamet. The Chinese silver paste supplier says it aims to absorb Solamet’s patented solar paste technology and global client base amid mounting margin pressures.

The researchers said they optimized the low-bandgap inverted perovskite cells through a passivating aluminum oxide (Al2O3) interlayer deposited via atomic layer deposition (ALD), which significantly helped improve device efficiency.

pv magazine is compiling a guide to home solar installations, aimed at those who are interested in installing but are new to the market and want to make an informed decision. We have spoken to associations, installers and industry specialists in major solar markets across the globe to compile best practice guidance and advice that aims to be applicable to home solar installations anywhere in the world. 

Heliene has opened a 500 MW solar module manufacturing line in Rogers, Minnesota, bringing its total US capacity to 1.3 GW. The facility has been operational since April.

Independent testing laboratory Kiwa-PVEL today published the 11th edition of its PV Module Reliability Scorecard, having extensively tested PV modules from 50 different manufacturers. The scorecard reveals improvements in energy yield per watt-peak and resistance to potential-induced degradation, but an increase in breakage under mechanical stress and hail simulations, and an overall higher failure rate are cause for concern to many.

Maxwell Technologies plans to raise $272 million via a convertible bond offering and use the money to develop machines for the manufacturing of tandem solar modules based on perovskite.

A digital product passport could support circular practices in the European PV industry by better tracking material composition, recyclability, and supplier information, crucial for material recovery.

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems report producing perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells with open-circuit voltages exceeding 1.9 V as the result of a two-step hybrid evaporated/blade-coated process for perovskite films.