Technology and R&D

Airbus sees hydrogen-powered fuel cell engines as a potential solution for its zero-emissions aircraft, which will go service by 2035. Meanwhile, Honda, meanwhile, has announced plans to produce fuel cell electric vehicles in the United States from 2024.

The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has shown that perovskite-based thin-film PV, transparent PV, and dynamic PV glazing technologies can reduce the energy use of glazed buildings by around 40% across eight regions in the United States.

Bluewater Energy Services has won a grant from the Dutch government to build a flexible floating solar demonstration project in the North Sea. The system uses flexible thin-film PV modules and flexible floaters that move with the waves.

India’s Goldi Solar has unveiled the HELOC Pro series of mono PERC solar modules, which are built with PV cells made in India. They are available in mono facial and bifacial variants, with power outputs ranging from 520 W to 550 W.

Chinese scientists assessed water evaporation on plots of land covered by two different kinds of agrivoltaic arrays and managed to significantly reduce evaporation in both cases. They looked at the relationship between cumulative surface evaporation and evaporation time.

Brazilian scientists have assessed variations in temperature coefficients in solar modules to determine whether there is a relationship between the dependence of these coefficients and irradiance. They claim their work could be used to improve PV module performance modeling.

Russia’s Hevel Solar said its new modules are based on 166 mm x 166 mm half-cut cells. They reportedly have a bifaciality factor of 90% and a temperature coefficient of -0.26% per degree Celsius.

India’s Poweron has developed wall-mount hybrid solar inverters with nominal power ratings of 3.68 kW, 4.6 kW, and 5 kW. They are compatible with lead-acid and Li-ion batteries.

Moroccan researchers have proposed the use of luminescent solar concentrators for power generation in greenhouses and agrivoltaic projects. They say they are capable of producing electricity in low-light illumination and converting ultraviolet light to visible light that could be used for crops.

China’s Bslbatt said its new product has a storage capacity of 5 kWh and a nominal voltage of 51.2 V. It measures 670 mm x 540 mm x 88 mm and is 90 mm thick.