Technology

Hopefuls from 40 different countries submitted entries to the pv magazine Awards in 2022, with more regions represented than ever before. This reflects the industry’s increasing global relevance and the importance all regions are placing on local innovation and production. Here we present the seven winners, who will be honored once again in a live Award ceremony on Jan. 17th, staged alongside the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi and as part of the 11th MESIA Solar Awards Ceremony.

Gravitricity, an Edinburgh-based storage specialist, aims to develop the first full-scale demonstration of its underground hydrogen storage solution by working with structural engineering contractor VSL Systems UK.

Nostromo Energy has developed a modular cold energy storage system that operates as a virtual power plant. The company will receive a loan, supported by the US Department of Energy (DoE), for the installation of a 120-building energy storage portfolio in California and other US states.

Solax Power’s new string inverters have an efficiency rating of 98% and a European efficiency of 97%. They feature two maximum power point tracking (MPPT) channels, with nominal power ranging from 2.5 kW to 6 kW.

Norway’s Inseanergy has developed floating solar tech for aquaculture projects. It recently commissioned its first commercial array – a 290 kW floater for salmon-farming specialist Bjoroya – in addition to a 160 kW installation for a cod fish farm.

China’s Huasun launched a new line of five heterojunction (HJT) solar modules in 2022, with power outputs ranging from 680 W to 700 W. The company has now added a new 715 W module to the series, with an efficiency rating of 23.02%.

Scientists in Morocco recently conducted a year-long study on the impacts of soiling on PV modules in arid, dusty conditions. They found that soiling could contribute to daily performance losses of as much as 15%.

The strength of applications for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s ultra-low-cost solar research funding round was so strong that the agency had to add AUD 1.5 million ($1.03 million) to its original allocation. The strength of competition pushed the process into 2023, but the 13 research projects aiming to achieve ultra-low-cost solar have now been awarded.

Jochen Rentsch, head of department at Fraunhofer ISE, speaks to pv magazine about recent progress in TOPCon module development, including new efficiency records by JinkoSolar and Jolywood. Production costs are falling as more Tier 1 companies shift from PERC to TOPCon, and multi-gigawatt production is already a reality. Could the TOPCon solar cell segment reach a tipping point for efficiency in 2023?

Dutch scientists have developed a new algorithm to isolate shadow-related PV system malfunctions and estimate potential energy losses caused by shadowing.