Canada

A recent industry event about organic, perovskite, and other emerging cell technologies hosted by TechBlick revealed advances in power conversion efficiencies, stability, availability of materials, and specialized manufacturing equipment. The event also showed that the number of startup companies, new products and new pilot lines is increasing at a fast pace.

Researchers have conducted a small-scale experiment on the behavior of smoke in PV-related fires. They have found that in homes featuring rooftops with a pitch of less than 45 degrees, residents only have about four minutes to safely evacuate.

An international team of researchers used large-area perovskite films treated with liquid crystals additives to make photovoltaic modules with a certified stabilized efficiency of 21.1% at an aperture area of 31 cm2.  

Baker Hughes has revealed plans for hydrogen projects in Europe and North America, on top of new announcements from Masdar, Air Liquide and TotalEnergies.

Canada’s Solaires Entreprises says its indoor perovskite modules are suitable for powering a range of electronic devices, such as wireless keyboards, smart door locks, electronic shelf labels, and sensors.

An international research team built the triple-junction device with dual bulk and interface passivation technique aimed at promoting halide homogeneity at the interface between the perovskite absorber and the hole-transport-layer. The 0.049 cm2 cell achieved a remarkable open-circuit voltage of 3.33 V and was also able to retain 80% of its initial efficiency after 200 h of continuous maximum power point tracking.

Rural land for renewable generation should be considered as a last resort, developers should restore environments post-project, and hosting “site objections” should be considered, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) says in its submission regarding proposed renewable energy legal changes in the Canadian state of Ontario.

Last year Canada switched on its largest utility-scale PV array – the 465 MW (AC) Travers Solar Project – which buoyed solar figures to 4.4 GW, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). But a PV expert warns a six-month pause on renewable energy projects in Alberta this year could slow the whole country’s momentum.

Combined production from the Mahone Bay and Berwick solar power plants are moving the Canadian province of Nova Scotia closer to its climate plan goals.

Terravis Energy said its heat pump prototype uses difluoromethane (R32) as the refrigerant and has a seasonal coefficient of performance (SCOP) of approximately 3.0 under Ontario’s environmental conditions.