Technology and R&D

Researchers in Spain have investigated how climate change may possibly impact solar power generation in the world’s region with the highest solar radiation levels – the Atacama desert in northern Chile. They found that, although global warming has the potential to impact solar power generation in the Atacama region, the desert will still retain exceptional conditions for solar power production.

RCT Solutions says it will provide its module production equipment for CAD 3 billion ($2.26 billion) in a 10 GW solar module factory in Manitoba, Canada. The Manitoba provincial government said in a statement that the facility will be fully integrated.

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research have developed a bifunctional solar battery device that enables simultaneous light charging, charge storing, and electric discharging. The device relies on a bifunctional carbon nitride photoanode to harvest sunlight and store its energy via trapped electrons.

The Canadian battery manufacturer offers the product in two versions with a nominal energy of 35 kWh and 70 kWh, respectively. It claims a projected 25-year lifetime for one-cycle per day applications.

The Alpha 150 battery, produced in the Netherlands by Australian electronics manufacturer Redarx, has a lifespan of more than 5,000 cycles and a continuous discharge rating of 200 A.

South Korea’s LG Energy Solution says its new hybrid inverters are suitable for high-voltage and low-voltage configurations.

German company RENA Technologies has announced the first sales of a new tool for silicon cell manufacturing. The tool is used for etching/removal of unwanted material on one side of a solar cell, and will be integrated into the gigawatt-scale production of an unnamed manufacturer in South Asia working with TOPCon technology.

Japan’s Marubeni and Hamada have launched Rexia Corporation to offer solar panel recycling and reuse services across the country, diverting material from landfill and giving a second life to older panels.

Israeli developer Tigi Solar is deploying an industrial heat pump to support the heating system at the facility of a food industry enterprise in Israel. The heat pump has an output of 780 kW and a coefficient of performance (COP) of 4.6. It uses existing ammonia chiller waste heat as the heat source and can reportedly provide a hot water temperature of 65 C.

Engineers at Melbourne’s RMIT University have developed a rechargeable “proton battery” that has the potential to store more energy than currently available lithium-ion batteries.