Technology and R&D

Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) has launched a 2025–29 project with 24 themes to advance the development of next-generation solar cells, site-specific systems, grid stability, and recycling in line with its carbon neutrality goal.

The system plugs into either a standard power outlet or the main electrical panel and automatically captures surplus solar energy – whether generated by rooftop panels or a portable plug‑and‑play kit. Up to four modules, each with a capacity of 2,200 Wh and 500 W of output, can be combined, and the system comes with a 7,500-cycle warranty for long-term reliability.

S&P Global’s first 2025 Tier 1 Cleantech Companies list ranks 63 solar, wind, inverter, and battery suppliers by technology, financial health, and sustainability to guide investors and developers.

The industry sector is most challenging to defossilize, due to high energy and feedstock demand, large and continuously running production plants, hard-to-abate process emissions, and infrastructural challenges. In public discourse, hydrogen is discussed prominently for industry, but its role may be overestimated. Solar PV as the least cost source of electricity may bring the electrification of industry to the next level.

Renewable and clean energy is one of the most effective solutions to reduce carbon emissions, but they are also strongly affected by climate change. IEC Standards and conformity assessment can help them to be more resilient.

A questionnaire and focus group study of households in the UK city of Bristol found residents have a lack of access to technical and ‘common sense’ information on the transition to heat pumps. Able-to-pay residents became more willing to invest as they learned about the technology.

Qatari researchers tell pv magazine that they have designed the world’s first hybrid station concept combining PV, liquid air, hydrogen storage, and batteries for EV charging and hydrogen refueling.

An American research group has conducted a pilot workshop for agrivoltaics stakeholders in Arizona, including farmers, developers, government officials and indigenous leaders. A reflection paper offers some key takeaways for future public participation.

BMW and E.ON say they have launched Germany’s first commercial vehicle-to-grid (V2G) solution, allowing EV owners to provide grid access while ensuring no impact on battery life.

The US Federal Highway Administration (FHA) has warned that cellular radios have been found in unspecified foreign-made inverters and batteries used in PV highway infrastructure, according to Reuters. pv magazine speaks with cybersecurity expert Uri Sadot about the risks.