Asia

A Chinese-Swedish research team has boosted the performance of tin-lead perovskite solar cells by modifying additives and post-treatment processes. The device also demonstrated improved stability, retaining 60% of its initial efficiency after 550 hours at 85 °C under maximum power point conditions.

China’s leading stationary storage battery manufacturers are accelerating the rollout of 500 Ah-plus lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells, betting that larger formats can cut system complexity and lift energy density in 6 MWh-class containers, even as safety, yield, and standardization challenges intensify.

With silver prices rising, more large solar manufacturers are expected to switch to copper for cell metallization. Radovan Kopecek of ISC Konstanz tells pv magazine that he expects the entire industry to follow. Ning Song of the University of New South Wales says a small efficiency tradeoff may be acceptable if the cost savings are significant and do not introduce new reliability risks.

Austrian engineering group Andritz has signed a deal to supply the pump turbine units for a 500 MW pumped storage plant in South Korea, the country’s first new pumped storage project in over a decade.

Chinese manufacturer Sungrow has introduced a new utility string inverter, a three-phase hybrid inverter for commercial and industrial (C&I) applications, and a liquid-cooled energy storage system.

Fujiyama Power Systems has started production at its 1 GW solar cell manufacturing facility in Dadri, India, with all output intended for in-house use to strengthen supply-chain security and support domestic content programs.

The Chinese firm has unveiled its latest energy storage solution, the ENERpro-LFP48300, equipped with a 48V, 300 Ah lithium battery. The company boasts a lifespan of over 9,500 cycles at a high 95% depth of discharge.

Researchers from KAUST, TU Delft, and LMU Munich have improved the performance of monolithic perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells by modifying the physical structure at the front of the bottom heterojunction solar cell.

The Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA) has released a voluntary reference guide to support adoption of vertical bifacial PV in Japan, outlining design, performance, and compliance considerations for projects in snow-prone, high-latitude, and space-constrained conditions.

China-based PV equipment supplier Ideal Energy (Shanghai) Sunflower Semiconductor has completed an AI-enabled pilot line for ultra-thin, flexible heterojunction (HJT) solar cells, targeting lightweight power systems for space and near-space applications.