Asia

This year’s edition of the China International Energy Storage Expo (EESA EXPO) has underlined the latest energy density achievements in the battery energy storage space on both cell and system levels. Meanwhile, the sheer number of commercial and industrial (C&I) systems on display spoke of growing demand in this market segment. Alternative lithium-ion battery chemistries were not easy to find.

Sharp’s new IEC61215- and IEC61730-certified solar panels have an operating temperature coefficient of -0.29% per C and a bifaciality factor of over 80%.

Adani Power has secured a letter of intent from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd. (MSEDCL) to supply 6.6 GW of hybrid solar and thermal power. Adani Green Energy will supply the 5 GW solar component from its renewable energy park in Khavda, India.

The novel solar cell uses tungsten sulfide as the back surface field layer. According to its creators, this layer can be included in conventional CIGS solar cells to improve their efficiency and reduce the absorber material’s cost.

A research team from South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology (UNIST) has designed a wire-free transparent solar cell and module with all electrical contacts placed on the rear side. A 16 cm² module achieved a power conversion efficiency of 14.7% and successfully charged a smartphone using natural sunlight.

China’s Ministry of Commerce has described the Office of the US Trade Representative’s recent decision to raise tariffs on Chinese solar components, batteries, semiconductors, steel, and EVs as “typical unilateralism and protectionism.” It added that the tariff increases will harm US companies and consumers.

The novel method uses the YOLOv8 framework, integrating an attention mechanism and a transformer model. It was tested on a dataset of 4,500 electroluminescence images against several other models and its results were up to 17.2% more accurate.

Ampin Energy Transition and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. have formed a joint venture company, Ampin C&I Power, to develop renewable energy sources in India.

Researchers in China have found that a special type of hygroscopic hydrogel made of the polyacrylamide polymer and lithium chloride may reduce PV module temperature by up to 7.5%. They have also developed a mathematical model to analyze the operational mechanisms and factors responsible for the cooling performance.

The 30 MW plant is the first utility-scale, grid-connected flywheel energy storage project in China and the largest one in the world.