Aurora Energy Research launches PPA valuation software in Europe
Aurora Energy Research has rolled out Lumus, a contract valuation tool that helps energy market participants assess long-term risk in power purchase agreements (PPAs) across key parts of Europe.
All solar cell efficiencies at a glance – updated
The research group led by Professor Martin Green has published Version 66 of the solar cell efficiency tables. There are 17 new results reported in the new version.
New research shows viability of residential ice-source heat pumps
Scientists in the United Kingdom have demonstrated the feasibility of residential ice-source heat pumps in cold climates and densely populated areas. They designed a heat pump system that utilizes existing gas pipelines to transport water.
U.S. defense research agency achieves optical power beaming record
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency said a project team testing new optical wireless energy receiver technology was able to transfer 800 W of power to a receiver 8.6 km away in a 30 second transmission. It claims is a distance and power record amongst optical power beaming demonstration results.
Solar set to become South Korea’s most cost-competitive energy source
A research team based at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory says that solar could have the lowest levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of all energy sources in South Korea by the early to mid-2030s.
Fraunhofer ISE creates startup for agrivoltaics
The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE (Fraunhofer ISE) has launched Diveo GmbH to plan and construct different kinds of agrivoltaic facilities without focusing on specific technologies.
Sekisui, TNO exploring perovskite solar PV collaboration
Japan’s Sekisui Solar Film and the Netherlands’ TNO have signed a letter of intent to explore collaborations related to flexible perovskite solar PV. Talks will be initiated on a potential perovskite module factory in Brabant and the exchange of relevant information.
MIT scientists developing silicon solar cell based on singlet exciton fission
Scientists in the United States have designed a microwire solar cell that could reportedly enable the coupling of singlet fission with silicon. Key to their achievement was an interface that transfers the electrons and holes sequentially into silicon instead of both at once.
Australian researchers turn to urine to cut hydrogen costs
Australian researchers have developed electrolysis systems that use urea sourced from urine and wastewater to generate hydrogen at “significantly lower” energy costs than traditional water-splitting methods.
Vision-assisted robotics for space solar cell manufacturing
German automation specialist Acp systems developed an advanced robotics solution integrating image processing to handle a range of wafer sizes and tolerances within a vapor deposition process for a manufacturer of space solar cell technologies. The requirements included a compact design, precsion within 0.1 mm and automated wafer handling quality control.
