Asia

Scientists in South Korea tested a new cathode material as part of a calcium-ion battery (CIB), achieving some impressive results. The material retained more than 90% of it initial capacity after 500 cycles, alongside some of the best performance results seen so far for this technology. The scientists say that this discovery opens up “an unexplored pathway toward the realization of stable and high-power cathodes in CIBs.”

With the solar industry already seeing prices rise because of a shortage of panel raw material polysilicon, an explosion yesterday at the factory of a silicon metal
and silicone producer in Xinjiang could have further repercussions on supply. No casualties have been reported.

The technology company and inverter maker has created a new unit to operate in the renewables and e-mobility sectors. Elsewhere, China’s largest e-commerce company, JD.Com, has signed an agreement with the world’s biggest wind company, GoldWind, to establish a renewables joint venture.

The metal wrap-through-focused module maker revealed its M series at the SNEC solar conference in Shanghai, claiming a bifacial rate of up to 70%.

The capacity will be set up on a build, own, operate basis and bidding in the tender closes on August 26.

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) has helped to secure finance for the development of a 250 MW solar plant on a highway in India. The project will support electric vehicle charging and other energy requirements along the roadway.

Small farmers in the Indian state of Bihar are making productive use of solar energy to reduce their losses and increase their income, thanks to an innovative pay-per-use cooling service for perishable produce.

German manufacturer Robert Bürkle GmbH has obtained a first instance judgement preventing a rival company from producing equipment that infringes on its patents. The decision of the Intermediate Peoples Court in China is not yet final, and the rival company has already filed a complaint against the ruling.

Gujarat-based solar panel maker Solex Energy will buy the production equipment from China’s Jinchen Machinery. The company also has plans for a cell line.

Researchers in South Korea have fabricated a cadmium-free heterojunction kesterite solar cell based on a zinc sulfide oxide Zn(O,S) buffer layer. They used a one-minute ammonium sulfide (NH4)2S treatment process for surface cleaning and passivation of the cell’s CZTSSe absorber.