Technology and R&D

The move to n-type technology in mainstream PV production was a major development in PV cell and module manufacturing in 2022. Manufacturers added TOPCon and HJT capacity and racked up efficiency milestones in the process.

Researchers from the University of New South Wales have been chosen to work with Airbus Defence and Space on a strategic research program to fast-track the development of high-efficiency solar cells for space applications.

With the latest generation of household devices increasingly connected and internet-of-things (IoT)-enabled, dye-sensitized solar cells can finally realize their latent promise and help reduce the carbon footprint of billions of manufactured goods.

India’s Sunbond Energy has developed new mono PERC modules built with 144 half-cut M10 cells and 10 busbars. They are available in power outputs ranging from 520 W to 550 W, with efficiencies of 19.83% and 21.23%.

SNCF Réseau and the National Institute for Solar Energy (INES) in France have agreed to jointly develop renewables projects. They aim to build PV systems that can supply continuous power at voltages of 3 kV, 6 kV, and 9 kV, while optimizing installation costs – particularly with regard to cables, operations, and maintenance.

Longi said it has achieved a 26.56% efficiency rating for a gallium-doped, p-type heterojunction (HJT) solar cell and a 26.09% efficiency rating for an indium-free HJT cell, both based on M6 wafers. Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hamelin (ISFH) has confirmed the results.

A recently published report from the IEA-PVPS on building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) digitalization found many BIPV professionals are unsure of a suitable method for estimating shading in BIPV projects.

Australian startup Syenta has developed a 3D printer capable of printing highly complex and functional electronics like photovoltaics, batteries, sensors and more, promising to do so in ways that are faster, cheaper and use less energy.

Researchers from the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia have reportedly developed a perovskite solar cell with comparable stability and durability to commercial silicon PV cells. They used a high-temperature processing method with dimethylammonium chloride to control the intermediate phases of perovskite crystallization.

Researchers from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) have developed a new low-temperature production process for bifacial thin-film solar cells based on copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS). It resulted in record yields of 19.8% for front lighting and 10.9% for rear lighting.