MCPV moves forward with 4 GW solar cell factory in the Netherlands
MCPV, a Netherlands based cell manufacturer, has secured €4.2 million ($4.6 million) of Dutch government support for a 4 GW solar cell plant to be built in the town of Veendam. It has also obtained electricity supply commitments for initial production lines and future expansion.
Quartz crucible quality key to reducing impurities in silicon ingot manufacturing
Researchers from Norway and Germany investigated the influence of impurities in fused quartz crucibles used in silicon PV ingot production. The results suggest that the key factors influencing crucible uniformity are sand quality, sand particle size, and aspects of the manufacturing process.
Agrivoltaics for hedgerow olive orchards
Researchers in Spain have created a new model to accurately estimate oil production and energy generation in agrivoltaic facilities built in hedgerow olive orchards. The proposed approach also allows the generation of mathematical equations estimating the influence of the system design variable.
Cando Solar unveils frameless 450 W heterojunction PV panels with 22.6% efficiency
The Chinese manufacturer says its new frameless heterojunction panels rely on busbarless technology and 210 mm wafers. The new products also feature a temperature coefficient -0.29%/C and weigh only 12.3 kg.
MIT scientists build PV-driven desalination system that reacts to changes in sunlight
The proposed brackish water desalination system uses photovoltaic electrodialysis to enable direct-drive desalination at high production rates. It already operated for 6 months on real brackish groundwater and was reportedly able to use 94% of the extracted PV energy.
The impact of sodium, moisture on heterojunction PV module performance
Researchers in France have investigated heterojunction solar module reliability in damp heat environment and have found that sodium ions are the main source of degradation.
Rooftop PV installations could raise daytime temperatures in urban environments by up to 1.5 C
New research from India shows that rooftop PV system may have “unintended” consequences on temperartures in urban environments. Rooftop arrays, for example, may potentially lower nighttime temperatures by up to 0.6 C.
UK startup unveils industrial heat pump for hot water, steam generation
Futraheat has developed a 300 kW/1.5 MW heat pump that can reportedly deliver steam up to 130 C and reach a coefficient of performance of 6.2. The first prototype was deployed at a brewery in Sussex.
Swiss startup offers organic PV-powered asset tracker
Truvami has launched an organic PV-powered asset tracker equipped with localization and sensor technology for battery-free use indoors and outdoors, targeting logistics and manufacturing applications.
The Hydrogen Stream: Infinity sends fuel cell to NASA for lunar testing
Infinity says it has delivered a fuel cell prototype to NASA for ground testing, aimed at demonstrating a regenerative energy storage system for potential lunar applications.
