Technology and R&D

Cadmium telluride solar cells are commonly based on non-ohmic back contacts that affect the device open-circuit voltage. Researchers in the United Kingdom sought to address this issue by adding a nickel oxide back buffer layer, which formed an ohmic back contact and increased open-circuit voltage levels.

Researchers at James Cook University have developed a process to synthesize graphene from tangerine peel oil, which they then used to recover silver from waste PV material. To demonstrate the quality of the recovered silver and the synthesized graphene, they made a dopamine sensor that reportedly outperformed reference devices.

New research from the UK shows that Oman could utilize a floating PV farm at the Wadi Dayqah Dam for hydrogen generation. The scientist said the project is technical viabile, although only with advancements in hydrogen energy storage technology could make it economically feasible.

The Japanese conglomerate said its washer-dryer can now be connected to rooftop PV via its AI-based Eee Connect system. This type of appliance adds to air conditioners, water heaters and refrigerators and can now be operated via the company’s Cocoro app.

A group of researchers in Australia has outlined a new methodology to determine the minimum power rating of energy storage systems (ESSs) used for emergency under-frequency response. The ESS size must be calculated to maintain the frequency within the standard operating range.

H-TEC will be able to produce more than 1 GW of electrolyzers starting next year. “We installed the first production lines and will have our official opening in September this year,” Maximilian Kuhnert, sales manager at H-TEC, told pv magazine.

Conceived by scientists in Japan, the system consists of a a xenon flash lighting system and a detector capacitor. It can reportedly examine solar modules and find the degraded ones without disconnecting the string’s electrical wiring.

Australia-based solar panel recycling company Lotus Energy has signed an agreement with Canadian silicon anode developer Neo Battery Materials with aims to supply future North American electric vehicle and energy storage needs.

A utility-scale battery delivery overturned on a highway after the truck carrying the batteries collided with a car, overcorrected, tipped to the side and dumped its cargo, leading to a fire that lasted more than 24 hours.

Called SolarNet+, the novel framework is claimed to calculate cities’ PV potential not only by finding the orientation of roofs in areal imagery but also by identifying superstructures such as windows or chimneys. It was tested using areal photographs from Munich and Brussels and proved superior to reference frameworks.