Technology and R&D

An international research group led by CIC EnergiGUNE, a Spanish research center, is designing new redox organic flow batteries. The researchers claim the batteries will offer longer duration, as well as higher power and energy densities, in a more environmentally sustainable format. The European Commission provided €3.8 million in funding for the initiative.

U.S. researchers claim to have improved the stability of one of the most promising halide perovskites – α-FAPbI3 – by squeezing the compound’s crystal lattices. The authors of the research prevented the crystal assuming an hexagonal shape at the room temperatures required for a PV device to operate properly.

A team at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory has come up with a new process that would reduce the production cost of highly expensive – and highly efficient – gallium arsenide cells.

The research group that developed the cell said the two materials used to produce it, dubbed 2PACz and MeO-2PACz, will soon be commercially available. The material consists of 1-2nm of self-assembled monolayers deposited on the surface of the perovskite by dipping it into a diluted solution.

Barium zirconium sulfide is another chalcogenide perovskite being tested in relation to the development of more efficient solar cells. Researchers at Buffalo University, in New York state, have created a thin-film based on the material they say offers significant light absorption and good charge transport.

Scientists at the Beijing Institute of Technology have identified the most suitable areas for solar parks in the Chinese capital using a geographical information system and a new multi-criteria decision-making technique: the ‘best-worst’ method. They claim the approach can help establish technically and economically viable projects.

A research team from the University of Huddersfield used electron microscopy to analyze micro-cracks in 4,000 polycrystalline silicon solar cell samples. The results showed power losses may vary from 0.9-42.8%, and increased temperatures due to micro-cracking may favor the formation of permanent hot spots in the cells.

Scientists at Monash University claim to have developed the world’s most efficient lithium-sulfur battery. They say the new device could enable an electric vehicle to drive more than 1,000km on a single charge.

Researchers at the American Institute of Physics have used the clear-sky irradiance model developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to measure the degradation rates of solar panels at a testing field in Germany over five years. The scientists say the model, when combined with real-world data, offers an efficient tool to evaluate the aging of PV technology.

Researchers in Denmark have developed water-based nanofibers coated with a biological PV substance which can be easily injected into the body. The developers say excitable cells in the heart and brain could be regenerated by being electrically stimulated with the solution.