Technology and R&D

UK scientists have examined the impacts of potential-induced degradation (PID) in solar cells and modules, based on a field study from a 1.2 MW PV system in Spain. Meanwhile, in a separate study, scientists in Japan have created a model for one of the less-investigated PID mechanisms, creating a model of its progress that will be useful in future research and mitigation efforts.

Scientists in Singapore have reviewed all thermal evaporation techniques for the production of perovskite solar cells and modules. Despite limitations, the new methods could lead to high production throughputs and more efficient products.

Erthos claims that with its new installation method, solar facilities could occupy just one-third of the surface covered by conventional PV plants, potentially reducing installations costs by up to 20%.

Equium has developed a new thermo-acoustic heat pump core that reportedly produces 3 kW to 4 kW of heat for every kilowatt of power it consumes. It says the refrigerant-free device could generate domestic hot water at temperatures of up to 80 C.

Chinese scientists have developed a new way to split seawater into hydrogen without using a separate desalination process. They incorporated a self-breathable waterproof membrane and a self-dampening electrolyte (SDE) into the electrolyzer, so water migrates from the seawater across the membrane to the SDE, without extra energy consumption.

It was a good year for the inverter market. Strong demand was only stifled by supply chain limits, but new inverters are less innovative and show a slower evolution in improvements. Nevertheless, more versatile options are emerging in response to the energy crisis.

Hyundai Heavy Industries has revealed plans to develop a hybrid engine with more hydrogen by 2023, and a complete hydrogen engine by 2025. Japan, meanwhile, has signed hydrogen-related agreements with Saudi Arabia and Oman.

N-type technology’s shift to the mainstream of PV production was a major development in solar cell and module manufacturing in 2022. Manufacturers added TOPCon and HJT capacity and racked up efficiency milestones in the process.

The first part of this review covered solar-wind hybrid projects, offshore floating PV, and islandable microgrids. The second part covers trends in projects and applications.

Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy and a group of heat pump manufacturers have started a project to replace gas and oil heating systems in multi-family homes with propane heat pumps featuring low-charge propane (R290) as the refrigerant.