Germany

pv magazine met with representatives of Chinese inverter manufacturer Huawei at the company’s booth at Intersolar Europe today to discuss the patent infringement case brought by SolarEdge in Germany.

The inverter manufacturer alleges that its patented DC optimized inverter technology has been infringed on in the German market. It adds that Huawei’s residential inverters use an architecture, which violates its patents. Huawei has said it is “evaluating the claims”, however it does not believe it has infringed any valid patent rights.

German PV production equipment manufacturers are recording a decline in incoming orders. Thin film technology, meanwhile, is seeing significant market share increases.

The planned cell is to be based on the so-called norbornadiene-quadricyclane storage system.

European markets: Growth in solar installations returned to European shores in 2017, with some of the usual suspects posting big numbers, and several new players awakening to the possibilities of PV. Here, pv magazine provides an overview of the latest movements on the continent.

With the acquisition by Golden Square Capital, the Germany-based PV company can finalize the plans to improve its financial status. Providing a two-digit million figure, the investor ensures that product and business development units can improve their activity in the future. Yet, cutting jobs in Germany is inevitable.

Germany’s RCT Power will start manufacturing lithium-ion-phosphate battery storage modules in eastern China this week. The fully automated facility in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, has an initial annual production capacity of 18,000 units.

Despite an increase in average prices, bid prices are well below €0.05/kWh. The volume of tenders was again significantly oversubscribed. Enerparc was awarded more than half of the bids.

Eon has now secured funding required the acquisition of RWE’s renewable energy subsidiary innogy, a move that was announced in March. German regulators, and the companies’ respective boards, have not yet give the green light for the acquisition.

The German bank will provide around €40 million. Part of the money is earmarked for PV projects awarded contracts in the first cross-border tender between Germany and Denmark.