Technology

Researchers in Jordan have designed a solar-assisted heat pump system for swimming pool heating at a hotel in the coastal city of Aqaba. They found that the system has a payback time of only 1.94 years and that total profits after ten years of operations may reach around $1.88 million.

Israeli researchers have tested organic PV modules to power polytunnel greenhouses and have found that they might offer advantages over conventional crystalline silicon, despite their lower efficiency rates. They have lower operating temperatures but are subject to degradation, due to the mechanical stress caused by the wind-induced movement of tunnel sheeting.

Scientists in China have developed a cell with an open-circuit voltage of 0.673 V, a short-circuit current of 23.7 mA per cm2, and a fill factor of 66.8%. They improved the quality of the antimony selenosulfide films by using alkali metal fluorides.

Huaneng Power International has switched on a 320 MW floating PV array in China’s Shandong province. It deployed the plant in two phases on a reservoir near its 2.65 GW Dezhou thermal power station.

NASA sent the world’s most powerful telescope into space on Dec. 25. It deployed and powered a related PV array 30 minutes after launch.

JinkoSolar says the collaboration could be the first-ever integration of next-generation N-type technology into solar hydrogen production. Meanwhile, Russia is reportedly ready to collaborate with the European Union on hydrogen energy projects, and Snam Group has signed a term sheet with the Torino Airport Management Company for the construction of a hydrogen-ready fuel cell system in cogeneration mode with a capacity of 1.2MW at Torino Airport.

Spain also launched its hydrogen mobility program for commercial use for the first time in the country, and TSO Transgaz has called for an extraordinary meeting to endorse the company’s plans to make investments in hydrogen, including joining the European Hydrogen Backbone group. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, meanwhile, announced that its liquefied hydrogen carrier, Suiso Frontier, has departed from Kobe for Australia. It is set to return in February with what is expected to be the world’s first international liquefied hydrogen delivery.

As part of a project headed by the European Space Agency investigating materials for long-term missions, scientists in Estonia are investigating a tiny iron-based crystal as a potential solar cell material. So far, the material has not achieved the sort of efficiency that would spark a lot of interest. These researchers, however, are interested in it for a different reason: Beyond planet Earth, the material is abundant enough that it could eventually be manufactured on the Moon or even Mars.

An international team of researchers has collected data on metal halide perovskite solar cells from more than 15,000 specialist publications and made them available in an open-access database. The Perovskite Database Project is based on the FAIR data principles that data should be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable and aims to capture the rapid development occurring in this increasingly relevant research field.

The PV industry in 2021 has largely been defined by disruption: Price increases from raw materials to final shipping have led to shortages in PV module supply and project delays the world over. Despite these upsets, innovation has continued at pace, and the year has seen plenty of technological twists and turns that are sure to spell good news for solar in the long run. Read on for a look back at some of the biggest developments.