Technology and R&D

SMA says its new product will offer digital services such as monitoring and automatic notifications to perform maintenance as well as offering an emergency supply system. According to analysts, the varied applications of new inverters signal an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Chinese module giant JinkoSolar today announced that it hit record power output levels for modules based on p-type and n-type technology. Both records are confirmed by TÜV Rheinland in Shanghai.

A recently published report on commodity markets published by the World Bank indicates that the recent decline in commodity prices for silver is likely to continue over the next 10-20 years. The looming trade dispute between the U.S. and China is impeding investor trust, as future outlook remains murky.

GAAP gross margin improved 4% year-on-year, while shipments grew by 345 MW in the most recent quarter. Through the acquisition of the U.S.-based UPS provider, the Israeli inverter supplier makes its first move outside of the pure-play solar sector.

A very small implantable device that can be used to control brain patterns has been developed by Japanese researchers using photovoltaic technology. The device is both the smallest and the lightest wireless optical biodevice to have ever been developed.

Chinese module manufacturing heavyweight JinkoSolar has announced the achievement of a new world record efficiency for a p-type monocrystalline silicon cell, at 23.95%. The record has been confirmed in testing by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Researchers working on inorganic perovskites at the Energy Materials and Surface Sciences Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) in Japan have found that doping with manganese can significantly improve the performance of wholly inorganic perovskite solar cells.

The goal of the project, RE 8760 is to show how the storage of renewable energies can make them usable all year round. The generated solar power is stored and converted into hydrogen. It can also be conserved over long periods and used to recharge fuel cell vehicles during the dark winter months.

U.S. technology company, Alta Devices has launched a new gallium-arsenide based solar cell, which it says improves on the power to weight ratio of its previous cell by 160%. The cell is designed to provide lightweight, high efficiency generation for integration with cars, drones and other vehicles.

A team of researchers the United States Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has discovered a method of coating particles with organic dye, which can capture near infrared light, a breakthrough which, according to the researchers, could greatly boost solar cell efficiency by capturing a larger section of the light spectrum.