Technology and R&D

Scientists have set a new efficiency record for a single-junction perovskite solar cell at 25.6%. The cell additionally showed operational stability for 450 hours, and intense electroluminescence with external quantum efficiencies of more than 10%.

Sinopec wants to build 1,000 hydrogen refueling stations by 2025. Ways2H is building a facility in the Tokyo area that will convert daily 1 ton of dried sewage sludge into 40-50 kilograms of hydrogen for fuel cell mobility and power generation. Ørsted wants to deploy two renewable hydrogen production facilities for a total of 1 GW by 2030. Wacker Chemie is planning to produce green hydrogen and renewable methanol at its German site.

Scientists in Madrid investigated the use of antireflective coatings in multijunction solar cells, drawing several conclusions that could further improve the efficiency of these cells. Their approach could improve on current antireflective coatings, particularly for high-efficiency multijunction cells, using methods and materials already proven in mass production.

The lightweight and flexible cell was built by Estonian researchers with microcrystalline powders. The device is claimed to be the most efficient solar cell fabricated with a semiconductor compound known as Cu2CdGe(SxSe1−x)4.

The University of New South Wales is leading a new research project to determine how rooftop solar PV and other distributed energy resources, including small-scale batteries, can be integrated into Australia’s power grid.

Arvind Shah, a professor at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, and Meyer Burger former Chief Innovation Officer Sylvère Leu recently spoke to pv magazine about the future of heterojunction PV modules. They said the tech is mature and can now compete on cost with PERC panels in projects – particularly in hot, humid environments.

The Recommended Practice guide, on top of describing the most common requirements for building a floating PV array, provides a series of technical guidelines for electrical safety, anchoring and mooring issues, operation and maintenance, and specific plant design that can withstand site-specific environmental conditions.

German start-up Phytonics has developed the film by taking inspiration from nanostructures in plants. In solar cells, the film enables a broader absorption spectrum and a higher angle of light-incidence tolerance.

U.S. researchers are using a data fusion approach to identify the most stable perovskites for PV cells. Their machine-learning method combines perovskite test results with first-principles physical modeling to identify the best candidates.

A robust national strategy, a portfolio of renewable energy assets, public subsidies and, ideally, existing gas pipelines will all favor African nations aiming to become exporters in the energy storage medium, participants heard at a recent two-day green hydrogen conference.