Technology and R&D

Engineers at Monash University have a developed a next-generation water-based battery suitable for application in residential use and compatible with rooftop solar in real time.

pv magazine is compiling a guide to home solar installations, aimed at those who are interested in installing but are new to the market and want to make an informed decision. We have spoken to associations, installers and industry specialists in major solar markets across the globe to compile best practice guidance and advice that aims to be applicable to home solar installations anywhere in the world.

The Aachen-based company has further developed its energy management system (EMS) under real-world conditions, to minimize the cyclic aging of its batteries.

The UK-based company said its new hybrid solution includes a stand-alone monobloc air-to-water heat pump with a nominal capacity of up to 16 kW and one of its boiler range. The heat pump system uses R32 (difluoromethane) as a refrigerant and has a coefficient of performance of up to 5.1.

Tristan Erion-Lorico, VP sales and marketing at Kiwa PVEL, spoke with pv magazine Editor Marian Willuhn at Intersolar Europe 2025 about rising module failures in lab tests this year, citing glass breakage and UV degradation in tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) modules as key quality concerns.

Tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) modules continued to dominate the PV market at The smarter E Europe 2025, but pv magazine Magazine Director Mark Hutchins and CRU Group Senior Research Analyst Molly Morgan found emerging cell and module concepts gaining ground on the show floor.

Germany’s Singulus Technologies will provide three of its physical vapor deposition (PVD) vacuum sputtering systems to Poland-based module manufacturer Roltec at a new plant that will produce copper, indium, gallium, and selenium (CIGS) cells on glass substrates.

A national procurement round for energy storage systems, planned in the second half of the year, is at risk of lengthy delay just as the grid operator is being forced to curtail large volumes of excess clean electricity.

Researchers from the Middle East have simulated a novel PV thermal module which includes a thermoelectric generator above the absorber layer, conical helical tape in the cooling tube and a ferrofluid. These technologies reportedly contributed to increased PV efficiency and thermal efficiency by 2.12% and 23.34%, respectively.

Researchers at the Delft University of Technology have developed new cerium-doped indium oxides for applications in heterojunction solar cells. A transparent conductive oxide built with the new compound has enabled a considerable increase in power conversion efficiency.