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.
Advertisement
Latest News
Spacebound silicon
Solar has a long history in powering satellites and space exploration, and high-powered devices based on multijunction PV cells made from “III-V” materials such as gallium arsenide or indium gallium phosphide have supplied this niche market as far back as the 1960s. But those devices are made with rare materials and complex processing, limited to small batches produced at high cost.
8 hours ago
Advertisement
Photovoltaic-thermal heat pump based on bio-based surface coating achieves 77.32% overall efficiency
Iraqi researchers have developed a PVT heat pump featuring a bio-based TiO₂–linseed-oil coating and three alternative refrigerants. The system achieved up to 77.32% overall efficiency and reduced PV module temperatures by as much as 34 C.
Georgia Tech, Bert Thin Films build 24.3%-efficient copper-contacted TOPCon solar cell via LECO
Georgia Tech-led researchers developed a 24.3%-efficient n-TOPCon solar cell using screen-printed rear copper contacts and LECO, nearly matching a 24.5% silver-contacted reference. The approach sharply reduced contact resistance while limiting copper diffusion, highlighting its potential to lower silver consumption and solar cell manufacturing costs.
The race for space solar
The space economy could be worth as much at $2 trillion by 2040 – according to a recent report by professional services provider PwC. The cisLunar orbit, between the earth and the moon, is particularly promising. But all of it requires power and, as it has for decades, that means PV – and both the technology and supplier landscape for orbital solar is diversifying. Eternal Sun | WAVELABS‘ Pepijn Veling reports from a series of events the company has attended across the country, on what is a fast-evolving technology and business landscape.
U.S. DOE seeks ‘mass, radiation tolerance, and durability’ in space solar cell manufacturing
Pursuing “space superiority” and critical supply chain risk mitigation, the DOE is providing grants seven to eleven research projects to advance space solar cell technologies, from III-V cells to standard terrestrial silicon and perovskites.
IoT-controlled jute cooling reduces PV module temperature by 21.4 C
Tunisian researchers have developed an IoT-controlled jute-fabric cooling system that reduced PV module temperature by up to 21.4 C and increased power output by 40.44% in desert conditions. The system uses 86% less water than previous natural-fiber cooling approaches while achieving an 81.3% water recovery rate.
Advertisement
Advertisement
All Research & Development news
World first for transformerless inverters as SMA receives UL certification
Germany-based SMA Solar Technology AG has received certification from Underwriters Laboratories (UL) for its transformerless inverters. This, says the company, is a world first for transformerless inverters and means that it can distribute them in the U.S. market for the first time.
Research: PV microinverters and power optimizer revenues predicted to hit around USD$1.5 billion over next 5 years
Solar microinverters and DC-DC power optimizers are forecast to generate more than USD$1.5 billion in revenues over the next five years, according to IMS Research. It says that shipments of the devices are forecast to grow over 100 percent per year and will total more than 16 million in the same period.
Advertisement
World's first carbon footprint verification for a PV module announced
AU Optronics Corp. says it has completed the carbon footprint verification on a multi-crystalline PV module, according to the international carbon footprint standard PAS2050*. EcoDuo PM220P00 is the world’s first PV module to have obtained carbon footprint verification, states the company, thus helping to reach a critical milestone on carbon footprint management of PV key components.
Researchers announce new 20.3 percent world record CIGS solar cell efficiency
Scientists at the Zentrum fur Sonnenenergie-und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg, Germany (Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research, ZSW) say they have achieved a new world record for copper, indium, gallium and diselenide (CIGS) solar cell efficiencies. At 20.3 percent, the Stuttgart researchers state that the new results should “significantly” improve the cost-effectiveness of CIGS thin film photovoltaics (PV) over the medium term.
US annual PV installations to reach 1.9 GW by 2014, says new study
The U.S. is expected to install around 1.9 gigawatts (GW) of photovoltaics (PV) annually by 2014, according to new research, which states that the countrys market is growing at fast pace, thanks to government support and decreasing installation costs.
Advertisement
Samsung to invest USD$15 million in development of nano-architected materials for thin film solar
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is to contribute USD$15 million to Silicon Valley-based Nanosys, Inc. in the U.S. in order to accelerate the development of commercial applications of nano-architected materials for the electronics and thin film solar.?? ?
SMA to deliver 100 inverters to medical clinics in Ethiopia
Under the development project Access to Modern Energy Services Ethiopia, realized by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, SMA Solar Technology AG has said it will deliver 100 battery power inverters to supply medical clinics with solar-generated alternating current (AC) in the country: 50 have already been delivered.
Advertisement
Advertisement