Technology

A research team in Spain has built what it claims to be the world’s most efficient perovskite solar cell using MXenes or any other type of 2D-materials. The device relies on a Mxene interlayer that suppresses non-radiative recombination and improved charge extraction at the interface between the perovskite absorber and the electron transport layer.

Scientists in China have proposed a novel scheduling framework for microgrids based on hybrid PV and a small modular nuclear reactors. The framework uses multi-objective distributionally robust optimization with a real-time reinforcement learning mechanism and is reportedly able to reduce operational costs by 18.7%.

The Japanese technology company is offering three types of space-grade compound solar cell designs for satellites and spacecraft.

French solar engineering firm kiloWattsol says technical assessments show that capture-price analysis provides a more accurate measure of photovoltaic asset performance than France’s monthly M0 benchmark, as price volatility and negative wholesale prices increase.

The phasing out of net-metering for solar installations is incentivizing a growing number of citizens to install residential battery storage systems in the Netherlands. Analysts are predicting the upward trend will accelerate in the coming years.

The Moroccan Ministry of Investment, Convergence and Evaluation of Public Policies has entered into an investment agreement for a polysilicon production plant set to have an annual production capacity of 30,000 tonnes.

Scientists in China have developed an optimized energy management strategy for a wind-PV hybrid heat pump system that uses both thermal and electric energy storage. Using different seasonal interaction management strategies, they simulated four operational cases.

UNSW researchers have investigated the impact of electron irradiation on PERC and TOPCon solar cell performance and have identified bulk lifetime degradation as main power loss cause. Their work stresses the need for increasing radiation tolerance in commercial space silicon solar cells.

The company’s demonstration centre in Dallas, Texas, showcases its Arcturus steam-generating heat pump, which it says is eight times more efficient than natural gas boilers and six times more efficient that electric boilers and thermal energy storage.

Scientists in Ghana have developed a device that combines a conventional solar PV-powered steam cooker with sand-based thermal energy storage. The system can achieve a thermal efficiency of 38.9% and has a payback period of 4.5 years.