Australian team develops graphene supercapacitor
Researchers at Monash University in Australia have developed a new carbon-based material they claim allows supercapacitors to store as much energy as traditional lead-acid batteries, while delivering power much faster than conventional batteries can manage.
Chinese Academy of Sciences developing thermoacoustic heat pump for industrial applications
The researchers developed a heat-driven thermoacoustic heat pump that can purportedly achieve a temperature lift of 125 C. It uses a thermoacoustic heat pump to stably release the heat from the engine unit. The system also includes a thermoacoustic engine unit and acoustic resonators.
Encapsulant delamination behavior in PV glass recycling
Researchers in Spain investigated effective separation of encapsulants from PV glass with a focus on melting behavior and resistance to the hot knife-method of delamination. The results indicated that thermoplastic polyolefin encapsulants were the easiest to remove from the PV glass.
Enphase introduces 97.5%-efficient microinverter based on gallium nitride tech
The inverter is designed for three-phase grid configurations without using external transformers. It contains gallium nitride technology, a first for Enphase’s microinverters.
California now hosting canal top solar-plus-storage plant
California has completed the 1.6 MW Nexus canal-top solar pilot, adding a 75 kW iron-flow battery system as part of a $20 million state-funded project to test water and energy benefits.
Midea launches air-to-air heat pump for high latitudes
Conceived for Nordic conditions, the Raynor heat pump features a seasonal coefficient of performance of 5.1 and a cooling seasonal energy efficiency rating of 9.2.
Improving TOPCon solar cell performance with rear treatment techniques
Researchers in China have investigated four strategies that minimize TOPCon solar cell surface recombination centers and improve light trapping performance. They identified alkali polishing with micro-texturing as the most suitable technique to improve TOPCon cell open-circuit voltage and fill factor and the overall device performance.
Dow releases new silicone gel for high voltage PV
The company said that its Dowsil EG-4175 Silicone Gel resists temperatures of up to 180 C in next-generation IGBT modules used in inverters.
Itoki, Hitachi, Tokuyama recycle solar glass for office furniture
The Japanese companies have used their unique technologies to demonstrate how glass from end-of-life PV panels can be used in office furniture components, specifically in an office privacy cabin.
Hydrogen can mitigate curtailment in floating PV-pumped hydro energy storage systems
Scientists at Italy’s University of Cagliari explored the integration of a water electrolyzer with a floating PV-pumped hydro energy storage system. They found that under high curtailment conditions, hydrogen production helped to stabilize system efficiency and lower the levelized cost of electricity when compared to a system without the electrolyzer.
