Toward traceability
Supply chain auditing has long played an important role in the PV industry, ensuring contracted standards are met and quality is maintained in manufacturing. And with a growing movement calling for ethical and sustainable practices across the solar supply chain, the process could soon take on a new dimension. pv magazine examines the current role of supply chain audits in solar manufacturing, and their adaptability in ensuring that standards beyond product quality are upheld with equal importance.
Getting on the front foot
For the effective rollout of the global energy transition we urgently need, the time has come to ensure that all aspects of solar and energy storage supply chains are transparent, sustainable, and just. But how can this be achieved? And are there tangible business advantages to be reaped? As part of our Q2 UP Initiative focus on workers’ rights, pv magazine has compiled a five-step guide for best practice in supply chain management.
pv magazine test: Three years in operation
The pv magazine test array in Xi’an, China, is being dismantled and upgraded this month. CEA director of technology and quality George Touloupas, senior technology and quality manager Huatian Xu, and Ryan Li, junior engineer for technology and quality, have taken the opportunity to analyze three years of performance data, in addition to running modules from the array through another series of lab measurements.
Age of green hydrogen causes co-location rethink
The regions where the desert meets the sea have long been thought the most desolate and unproductive areas of the world, fruitful solely for those clever cultures who call them home. However, in the 21st century, that fiscal notion is turning on its head, and turning as rapidly as a wind turbine in a tornado.
The ‘other side’ of batteries
Graphite’s pivotal role in electric-vehicle battery technology is coming under increasing scrutiny. Graphite is almost exclusively produced in China, and while the processing of the mineral poses serious environmental issues, the alternatives appear costly. Ian Morse looks at what’s next for critical graphite supplies.
Supply chain challenges during Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought many challenges for people working in supply chain management, writes Torsten Nimtz, the regional director of renewables for Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. The two most significant of these challenges are rising prices and declining reliability.
Final thought: Europe’s PV ‘moonshot’
In 1962, John F. Kennedy may have said: “We’re catching the sun! Why? Because it’s challenging!” While not his precise words, the sentiment stands. Kennedy created a vision of going to the moon in the early 1960s. He did not mention all the details about thrust and fuel, the rocket type or construction techniques. He focused on the idea of something bigger.
