Nano-grid home runs solely on DC power
A team of researchers at Purdue University are retrofitting a 1920s home to run completely on DC current.
The Hydrogen Stream: BMW starts in-house production of fuel cells for iX5 Hydrogen
BMW Group said it is targeting the premium segment with its iX5 Hydrogen car, Topsoe revealed that it will invest $267 million to build the world’s largest SOEC electrolyzer plant in Denmark, and Bosch announced plans to invest $200 million in US fuel cell production.
The economics of perovskite solar manufacturing
Scientists in Switzerland put together a detailed analysis of the projected costs of designing and operating a 100 MW perovskite solar cell production line in various locations, taking in labor and energy costs as well as all materials and processing. The found that perovskite PV could be cost-competitive with other technologies even at much smaller scale, but noted that this still depends on the tech proving its long-term stability, and impressive achievements in research being successfully transferred to commercial production.
New ferroelectric material for lead-free perovskite solar cells
US scientists have discovered a lead-free perovskite material with ferroelectric properties that can be used in solar cells. The perovskite compound was grown from cesium germanium tribromide and initial analysis shows that it produces ferroelectricity.
Solid-state hydrogen storage techniques at a glance
Scientists compared hydrogen storage techniques and found that physical methods are closer to commercial feasibility, while materials-based techniques have strong potential.
Enphase partners with Home Connect to manage home appliances from single app
Integrated clean home energy and smart appliances platform lets users run appliances on battery-stored solar energy in pre-determined time frames.
Laser-enhanced contact optimization improves TOPCon solar cell performance by 0.6%
Scientists in Germany have improved the efficiency of an industrial TOPCon solar cell from 23.8% to 24.1% by using laser-enhanced contact optimization as a post-firing treatment.
Putting polyvinylidene-fluoride backsheets to the test
US scientists tested PV modules built with backsheets and polyvinylidene-fluoride (PVDF) layers, to replicate the degradation the material has suffered in the field of accelerated testing. By exposing the modules to multiple stresses, they were able to cause degradation in the backsheet materials. Though this did not closely match what has been seen in the field, such testing can be useful in identifying potential weaknesses.
Australian startup releases new hydrogen generators
H2X Global has released the first of its hydrogen-powered generators in the Australian market.
Arctech releases SkyWings single-axis solar tracker
Arctech has released a novel dual-row, single-axis solar tracker for use in different climates and topographies.
