Technology and R&D

Just days after Tesla announced it was taking orders – and down-payments – for its much-hyped and quite good looking solar roof, an Australian made printed solar innovation that could rival Elon Musk’s power generating tiles has moved one major step closer to commercialisation.

Researchers from ICL claim to have discovered the cause for the rapid decrease in performance of perovskites. Adding iodide ions may help improve the stability of solar cells.

The new record is just 0.24% below the Chinese company’s small-area laboratory cell record and has been achieved on an industrial, large area cell.

Researchers at the Netherlands’ University of Twente have developed a material comprising thin, diamond-like photonic nanostructures which reflect a surprisingly wide range of colours of light, from all angles. This could make the material ideally suited for use as a back reflector for PV modules.

The latest efficiency milestone for Natcore’s Foil Cell is verified by the NanoPower Research Lab at Rochester Institute for Technology. The result was achieved on the Natcore Foil Cell, which utilizes a lasering process and novel metallization strategy, eliminating the need for costly silver.

KIT scientists have researched the underlying physical mechanisms of perovskites to understand the reason for their high efficiency potential. For the first time proof for nanostructures in the perovskite layers has been provided.

Researchers from the Abu Dhabi based Masdar Institute and the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology have jointly published the development of a fabrication method, which they say could make high efficiency semiconductor materials such as gallium-arsenide, indium phosphide and others more competitive with crystalline silicon.

A team of researchers from École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Swiss center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) has developed a new process for fabricating cells with all electrical contacts at the rear. According to EPFL, the process has already achieved lab efficiencies in excess of 23%.

Scientists at Swiss research center École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne have published research showing how the presence of light can affect perovskite film formation. The study could result in higher efficiencies and better reproducibility in perovskite cell production.

The Solar Superheroes made their live action debut at the SNEC show in 2016, and this year they returned, once again drawing huge crowds wherever they prowled or performed.