Technology and R&D

An international research team has crafted an innovative solar cell design. By employing a top absorber consisting of methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3), a lead-halide perovskite, and a bottom absorber composed of FA0.5MA0.5Pb0.5Sn0.5I3, a perovskite material, the cell maximizes light absorption across a broad spectrum.

Queensland-based flow battery company, Redflow, has commissioned a 30 kWh zinc-bromine flow battery for the Brisbane City Council.

Daikin Applied Americas has developed an air-to-water heat pump that can produce 91.2 kW of heat and 23.58 tons of cooling. The new device can be used as a cascade system with water-to-water heat pumps, and can switch between cooling and heating modes, depending on temperature requirements.

Chinese manufacturer SPIC Solar says its new PV modules have power outputs ranging from 450 W to 460 W, and power conversion efficiencies ranging from 22.9% to 23.4%.

China-based researchers have developed a model for photovoltaic pavement, achieving a potential electrical output of 0.68 kWh/m2 and an efficiency of 14.71%. Through simulations across 255 Chinese cities, they have determined that electricity potential ranges from 0.70 kWh/W to 1.83 kWh/W.

TSUN’s new microinverter series has an input current of up to 18.5 A and an efficiency rating of up to 97.2%. The manufacturer claims it is particularly suitable for complex installation environments.

The European Solar Test Installation (ESTI) has confirmed the results of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology’s (KAUST) new perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell. The 1 cm2 device also achieved an open-circuit voltage of 1.974 V, a short-circuit current density of 20.99 mA/cm2, and a fill factor of 81.3%.

A new study has evaluated the development of agrivoltaics in India, analyzing the challenges and opportunities involved in scaling up such projects, and exploring their potential for commercialization.

Norwegian startup Over Easy has validated the wind resistance of its vertical PV system for rooftops by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Wind tunnel tests conducted by I.F.I. Institut für Industrieaerodynamik GmbH confirm that the system can function without ballast or fastening to the rooftop.

An international research team in China has used Czochralski n-type c-Si wafers from China-based Sichuan Yongxiang to build textured wafers with a thickness ranging from 65 μm to 55 μm. They have used the wafers in heterojunction solar cells ton hit efficiencies close to those of devices cells based on conventional wafers.