Technology and R&D

The Israel-headquartered power electronics supplier continues to diversify its business base as it closes its acquisition of UPS provider Gamatronic. Uninterruptible power supply is a multi-billion-dollar market expected to grow in the coming years.

U.S. high efficiency specialist Alta Devices has announced the achievement of a 28.9% efficient single junction cell, based on its lightweight gallium arsenide (GaAs) technology. Alta’s solar cells are designed for integration into unmanned air vehicles and other autonomous systems.

A team of researchers from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany has published research into a physical-chemical process known as singlet fission, which it says could boost solar efficiency by as much as 50%.

A team of scientists led by Russia’ National University of Science and Technology (NUST MISIS) has made a discovery that allows them to better control excitons in a multi-layered semiconductor. In time, the discovery could lead to the development of unique new solar cell materials.

Finnish-based energy-solution provider, Wärtsilä has signed an agreement with automobile producer, Hyundai Motor Group to establish a commercial partnership for the use of second-life electric vehicle (EV) batteries in storage solutions.

Inverter manufacturers tapped into the major theme of digitization in their product presentations at this year’s Smarter E event in Munich – of which Intersolar Europe is a part of. The solutions deploy smart software solutions for maximizing self-consumption, O&M provision and enable hybrid architectures across all three market segments.

U.S.-based tracker supplier Array Technologies took part in the panel discussion on bifacial technology at the Future PV Roundtable during Intersolar Europe last week. pv magazine caught up with panelist Caesar Alberte, VP International, to discuss the company’s new CEO and its work on bifacial tracking.

U.K.-Germany based Oxford PV has announced the achievement of 27.3% efficiency on its perovskite-silicon tandem cell. The record has been confirmed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE).

Perovskites, a tempting low-cost alternative to crystalline silicon based solar cells, could be moving closer to commercial production thanks to a new way of applying the critical electron transport layer (ETL) pioneered by an international team of researchers.

Following Monday’s announcement, pv magazine spoke to Lior Handelsman, of SolarEdge. The company VP is adamant Huawei has infringed the Israeli firm’s intellectual property, and says defending IP will see the PV industry grow.