Estonia

Solarstone, an Estonian producer of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solar roofs, has opened a 60 MW manufacturing facility in Viljandi, Estonia, to produce a broader range of design and performance specifications.

Researchers in Estonia applied for the first time the close-spaced sublimation (CSS) deposition technique to manufacture solar cells based on bismuth trisulfide (Sb2S3). The resulting devices showed limited power conversion efficiency so far, but the scientists claim the new process paves the way for the development of future earth-abundant inorganic PV materials.

An international research group used the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) method to fabricate an antimony trisulfide PV cell with high power conversion efficiency and remarkable average visible transmittance. The cell has an active area of 7.06 mm2.

Salzgitter Flachstahl says it will produce hydrogen with green electricity from a wind power plant under construction by Iberdrola in the Baltic Sea. German Minister of Economics Robert Habeck, meanwhile, has announced funding for the Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking transformation program.

Energiasalv has secured a construction permit to build a 6 GWh pumped hydro storage plant in Paldiski. Work on the facility is planned to start in the summer of 2024.

The European Union and its funding mechanisms for hydrogen are attracting the interest of private funds and investors. Sustainable Capital says it wants to co-invest in preselected companies, mainly in the mobility sector, focusing on Estonia, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Estonian startup Solarstone has developed two solar tiles with an efficiency of up to 19.5% and an operating temperature coefficient of -0.41% per C. It recently secured €10 million in funds to expand sales across Europe.

Panels will be installed at waste sites in five mining towns as part of the latest, €2.4 billion ($2.57 million) round of investment from a fund set up to help coal-dependent European member states with the energy transition.

Shipbuilder Hermann Barthel has developed the world’s first push boat to combine battery-electric propulsion with hydrogen and fuel cell technology. Iberdrola and Fertiberia, meanwhile, have commissioned Europe’s largest green hydrogen production plant.

Conceived by researchers in Estonia, the device is claimed to be compatible with both crystalline silicon and thin-film BIPV panels and to manage, easily, different voltage levels. It can be applied either in solar facades or BIPV rooftop arrays.