Technology and R&D

In other news, Plug Power revealed plans to build a 35-ton-per-day green hydrogen generation plant at Belgium’s Port of Antwerp-Bruges and UK researchers developed an artificial leaf device made from bismuth oxyiodide that is able to harvest sunlight to produce hydrogen fuels.

Italian solar panel manufacturer Sunerg has developed an integrated photovoltaic water heater solution based on two resistances. The system relies on a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller and can work with a PV module with a power output of up to 450 W.

Swiss module manufacturer Megasol has unveiled a novel rooftop PV system in two variants — full-black and translucent. The installation consists of vertical supports, a ridge profile, and solar modules.

Taiwanese manufacturer Eterbright has developed a CIGS solar tile with power output ranging from 26.5 W to 56 W and a temperature coefficient of -0.34% per C. The product is able to withstand a snow load of 5,400 Pa and a wind load ranging from 1,600 Pa to 2,400 Pa.

A consortium led by building-integrated photovoltaics maker Mitrex wants to install highway noise barriers with integrated solar that have 1.2 MW of capacity per kilometer. The technology is currently in the pilot phase at government entity locations in North America.

UK scientists have designed a new type of aqueous organic redox flow battery based on ion-exchange membranes made of a polymer of intrinsic microporosity. The battery showed a very low-capacity decay rate of 0.0335% per day for 2,100 charge-discharge cycles.

The Korean manufacturer launched a new bifacial module based on M10 wafers and is planning to produce bigger modules based on M12 wafers starting from the third quarter.

Energy Dome built its first pilot facility in the Italian province of Nuoro. It said the battery was performing under the expected standards for both long-duration and round-trip efficiency and that it plans to build another full-scale commercial facility with a capacity of 20 MW/200 MWh by the end of 2023.

US provider EnerVenue will provide its nickel-hydrogen batteries for large scale renewable and storage applications to Sonnell Power Solutions. The devices will add resiliency to the island’s industrial sector, which has suffered outages and inconsistencies in the years since Hurricane Maria.

Longi commissioned a 5 GW solar cell factory in Ningxia Province and Gokin Solar announced plans to build a 50 GW ingot factory in Sichuan Province. Furthermore, PV equipment manufacturer Jinchen supplied 2 GW of production lines to Adani Solar in India.