Technology and R&D

Tandem PV has secured capital to advance its four-terminal perovskite-silicon tandem module technology and move closer to first manufacturing. The company claims its products maintain 80% of the initial performance after 25 years.

An international research team has provided an overview of global trends and best practices for hydrogen adoption and investment in Saudi Arabia.

Scientists in Turkey determined the optimal tilt angle for agrivoltaic projects associated with different crops in the central Mediterranean region, and other regions with similar latitude and climatic conditions.

Scientists in the United Kingdom have proposed to combine residential thermoelectric heat pumps with heat storage tanks and have found this solution offers a higher heat output, a higher coefficient of performance, and shorter heating time. They stressed that thermoelectric heat pumps are easily combinable with DC photovoltaic energy.

Arab countries are “punching above” their weight in their contribution to academic research on photovoltaics, according to analysis by UNESCO. The region is expanding its global share of scientific publishing across all key energy topics, but it is highest in solar.

UK researchers have evaluated the impact that heat pumps could have on fuel poverty in England and Scotland. They have found that the benefits heat pumps can provide exist in both scenarios.

In its latest monthly column for pv magazine, the European Technology and Innovation Platform for Photovoltaics (ETIP PV) presents the main findings of its White Paper on PV manufacturing. The report evaluates how policy and regulatory frameworks have evolved for European companies in the PV sector, and compares these frameworks to the PV industrial-policy evolution of key global markets such as China, India, and the USA.

Bluebird Solar, an Indian PV manufacturer, has developed half-cut mono passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) solar modules based on M10-sized cells. The modules are available with outputs ranging from 400 W to 550 W.

Scientists in the United Kingdom have proposed for the first time to deposit silver nanoparticles in electron transport layers used in perovskite solar cells to improve device performance. They found that an “optimal” concentration of silver nanoparticles may help to improve a perovskite cell’s charge transfer and extraction, as well as its efficiency.

Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI) has awarded 1.5 GW of electrolyzer manufacturing capacity to eight companies in a recent tender.