Technology and R&D

A Spanish consortium has started commissioning tests to produce renewable hydrogen in Mallorca, while another consortium led by Portuguese energy giants EPD and Galp is set to develop 100MW of green hydrogen production in Sines, Portugal. Lightsource bp and Dourogás have also agreed to set up a joint venture to invest in solar and green hydrogen infrastructure in Portugal.

The lithium-ion battery producer began manufacturing activities at its new factory in Ningde city, Fujian Province. Aiko Solar has also secured 4,515,000,000 wafers for the next three years through three different supply deals.

Scientists at the Nankai University in China have provided a comprehensive overview of current research on silicon heterojunction-based tandem solar cells (SHJ-TSCs) and shared their expectations of future developments in this field.

The module series also achieved a maximum power of 721.016 W. The result has been confirmed by TÜV Rheinland.

Scientists in the UK investigated the relationship between two of the most worrisome defects that can affect solar cells in the field – cracking and hotspots. Their work analyzed solar cells with different levels of cracking under varying light conditions, finding that the most severely cracked cells were considerably more likely to run at high temperatures and form damaging hotspots.

Sydney-based startup SunDrive has given itself an early Christmas present in the form of the fabrication of its first full-sized panel. This panel marks the most recent milestone on the road to commercialization for SunDrive, which set a new world record for commercial-sized silicon solar cell efficiency in September.

Air Force Research Lab demonstrates key hardware for Arachne flight experiment, which aims to build an operational space-based solar power transmission system.

Nexcharge, a joint venture between Indian lead-acid storage specialist Exide Industries and Swiss lithium-ion battery manufacturer Leclanché, has fully automated assembly lines of li-ion battery packs, modules, and cell testing labs in Gujarat. Ketan Chitnis, VP of Nexcharge’s stationary storage business unit, tells pv magazine that the government’s production-linked incentive scheme is attracting investment.

The Swedish Electrical Safety Agency has ruled that some SolarEdge optimizers and one string inverter from Growatt do not meet its electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements – halting their sale in the country. SolarEdge expressed surprise at the banning and claims that the complaints filed with the Electrical Safety Agency came from a handful of amateur radio operators.

Ambient Photonics has developed solar cells that can be used by internet-of-things (IoT) and smart home device companies. It is working to secure funds from the U.S. government to build a factory in the United States.