Technology and R&D

A Chinese-Finnish research team has identified composite membranes as the best future option for non-aqueous redox flow batteries.

In the third interview of a series, pv magazine spoke to Prof. Arvind Shah of École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne and Associate Prof. Alessandro Romeo from the University of Verona about the challenges and opportunities of cadmium telluride (CdTe) PV tech. They said there is still potential to ramp up efficiency and cut costs, and claimed that the toxicity of cadmium should not be seen as a serious concern.

Developed by a French-Canadian research group, the triple-junction cell is based on indium gallium phosphide (InGaP), indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) and germanium (Ge) and has an active area of only 0.089 mm2. It can be used for applications in micro-concentrator photovoltaics (CPV).

Scientists in the U.S. used sophisticated imaging techniques to observe previously unknown defects in the crystalline structure of a solid-state electrolyte. The scientists theorize that these defects could play an important role in the electrolyte’s performance, and that designing them more carefully into the material could have impressive results.

It’s claimed the decentralized desalination system can deliver a levelized cost for desalinated water of US$0.7-4.3/m3, depending on PV costs and electricity prices. It was built with several concentrated photovoltaic/thermal (CPV-T) collectors, a hot water tank, a V-MEMD module, a seawater feed tank, and a distillate tank.

Australia’s Redflow has unveiled its new Energy Pod Z module.

Furthermore, Canadian integrated energy company Suncor and Canadian holding company ATCO are looking into a potential “world scale clean hydrogen project” in Alberta, and Japanese energy company Eneos and Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer Toyota Motor, are exploring hydrogen applications at Woven City, a prototype city in Japan.

The Swedish company secured $38 million to build a manufacturing facility it has planned with the support of Swiss conglomerate ABB. The factory will be located in Stockholm and produce the company’s Powerfoyle products.

U.K. researchers have developed a flexible thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cell for use in ultra-thin glass for space applications.

Hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels will not be able to move forward fast enough to replace fossil fuels and tackle climate change, according to a German-Swiss research team that claims direct electrification alternatives are cheaper and easier to implement. The scientists cite too-high prices, short-term scarcity and long-term uncertainty, as the main reasons for their skepticism.