Technology and R&D

The project will provide data to help Southern Company understand how well the battery energy storage system works to store and discharge solar energy.

SolarReserve LLC has received an award from the U.S. Department of Energy under the SunShot Initiative to advance its CSP technology. With the help of a US$2.4 million grant, the company aims to improve its molten salt energy storage capabilities.

The program will be crucial in evaluating how net-zero energy homes that generate and store their own energy impact the local electricity grid. California is aiming to have all new homes net-zero starting in 2020, and all new commercial buildings by 2030.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has achieved an efficiency of 25.1% on a both sides-contacted silicon solar cell. In addition to increasing efficiencies, the TOPCon technology is said to simplify manufacturing processes.

Perovskite startup Saule Technologies has attracted investment for Japan’s Hideo Sawada, one year after the company launched. Saule is attempting to commercialize perovskite semiconductor on flexible PET substrates, which was developed by scientist Olga Malinkiewicz.

Australian organic PV and perovskite solar cell (PSC) developer Dyesol claims to have made a significant breakthrough in perovskite stability for solar applications. The company claims to have produced 1cm squared perovskite cells, at around 10% conversion efficiency, which can with stand accelerated degradation testing for over 1000 hours.

Adler Solar and viamon have completed a joint pilot project in the U.K., which saw theft protection devices installed in an 18 MW solar PV park. The companies claim to have built the world’s first GPS-based safety concept for PV installations.

Natcore Technologies Inc. has said pilot demonstration of its silver-less solar PV cells is expected in early 2016, with production available later in the year, if successful. To date, four companies have expressed interest in the new technology.

In what is expected to bring “substantial” cost savings to the industry, Natcore technology Inc. says it has successfully swapped silver for aluminum in its solar cells. A provisional patent application will now be filed.

Energy storage is on course to see a boom similar to that in the solar market; Australia aims to tap this potential to facilitate the further roll out of renewables. A new study has identified key investment areas, and barriers, to storage implementation. An overview of the global storage market sees Hawaii and Scotland presenting viable approaches to implementation, although California and Germany are said to have the most “thorough” storage programs.