Research & Development
Solar R&D is focused on improving efficiency, reducing production costs, and extending system longevity. Key areas include tandem and perovskite cell development, advanced materials for encapsulation and contacts, and new concepts in system integration.
Simulation tools, AI-driven design, and accelerated testing methods are expanding research capabilities. Sustainability and circularity targets are increasingly embedded in innovation strategies.
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Solar PV potential at one of the world’s northernmost settlements
Researchers assessed the role of solar PV in Norway’s northernmost settlement’s transition away from fossil fuels, focusing on Arctic constraints such as snow, icing, permafrost, and extreme seasonal irradiance. The study highlights strong summer PV potential, substantial rooftop resource availability, and clear complementarity with wind and storage within an integrated renewable energy system.
KIT, DLR publish dataset from German solar power tower
Research from Germany has published an open-access dataset covering the Jülich Solar Tower in western Germany. The research team say they hope data from different facilities will be added in the future to promote widespread adoption of the technology.
How to power buildings with solar-driven reversible heat pumps, organic Rankine cycle
Researchers in China proposed a solar-driven integrated system that combines reversible heat pump and organic Rankine cycle (ORC) technologies, enabling flexible switching between heating, cooling, and electricity generation for buildings. Simulation results show strong performance dependence on solar irradiance and temperature, with COP rising up to 4.1 and optimal operation achieved at 600–850 W/m² irradiance.
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All Research & Development news
US: Solar industry poised to create 200,000 jobs
200,000 domestic jobs and 10 gigawatts (GW) of new solar installations could be created in the U.S. if the Department of Treasury Grant Program (TGP) was extended by two years and solar manufacturing was included in the industries’ existing tax credit, says the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
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PV Legal launches new database highlighting "bureaucratic barriers" to PV development
The PV Legal consortium has launched an online database containing quantitative and qualitative data on project development processes and bureaucratic barriers that, they say, are hampering the set-up of photovoltaic (PV) systems.
Stanford team wins MIT Clean Energy Prize with new solar material
C3Nano, Inc., a company founded by Stanford University students, has won the 2010 MIT Clean Energy Prize for the development of a new transparent electrode material, which, it is claimed, will make photovoltaic solar panels both cheaper and more efficient.
NREL, 3M launch technology partnership
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and 3M, the St. Paul, Minn.-based technology company, have embarked on research and development partnerships in three key areas of clean energy innovation: thin-film photovoltaics, concentrating solar power and biofuels.
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