Technology and R&D

Researchers recommended that transmission system operators consider adopting grid-forming battery energy storage systems system-wide to improve grid stability and to maximize system hosting capacity for solar and wind generation.

Utility-scale solar is set to crank up the voltage, preparing to shift from 1.5 kV to 2 kV on the DC side. It is a move that could redefine PV system design and slash costs, but it won’t happen globally due to vastly different regulations as voltages rise, reports Tristan Rayner.

There is a gap in the market for long-duration energy storage (LDES), according to US-based manufacturer ESS Inc. – one which can’t be plugged with lithium-ion chemistry. Hugh McDermott, of ESS Inc. tells pv magazine how he thinks iron flow batteries fit into the energy system of the future, as the company pursues global expansion.

Swedish manufacturer Aira launched its heat pump in Europe in 2024. The company told pv magazine it is now developing a full home energy management system proposition to integrate heating, solar, battery energy storage and electric vehicle charging.

A team of German researchers has developed a miniaturized solar cell experiment for nanosatellites. It was used to test samples of new mutlijunction solar cells developed by Azur Space, including novel triple-junction metal wrap through solar cells.

A German research team has investigated the feasibility of a large-scale PV-powered seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant in Jordan and has found that keeping the concentrate flow constant is the most appropriate desalination operating mode.

The University of Konstanz and Chinese panel maker Longi have assessed the impact of gettering on LeTID in industrial Czochralski grown gallium-doped p-type silicon ingots and have found that defect density depends on impurity concentrations in the melt, which are observed in the case of interstitial iron concentrations.

The Japan Weather Association (JWA) says its new forecasting service provides real-time surplus solar power predictions for individual buildings, commercial facilities, and households.

VDE Americas’ new hail risk atlas, now available for use on the Esri ArcGIS platform, can compare and evaluate the site-specific hail risk of current and future solar projects across the United States.

IEA-PVPS has conceived a new test method and analysis of the impact of curvature in vehicle-integrated photovoltaics (VIPV) surfaces. Over the course of an 8-day summertime trial in south-eastern France, the researchers found that the curvature triggered irradiance and temperature non-uniformity of up to 261W/m² and 13 C, respectively.