Germany

The Norwegian manufacturer said Hanwha Q Cells’ legal action in Germany has not started yet, and it will take all necessary steps to defend itself against patent infringement allegations.

Insurance is seldom sexy but climate change campaigners will raise a glass to Munich Re if the industry emulates its policy to cap the financial risk related to battery warranties and helps lift global investment in energy storage as a result.

In the run-up to the Energy Storage Europe conference pv magazine is featuring the top ten developments in the field as our Energy Storage Highlights, selected by an independent jury. Having recently covered a full range of storage products for residential, commercial and utility-scale applications, today we are finally going to announce the winner of the ranking.

The Chinese module maker “categorically refutes” allegations made by its rival that it is using Hanwha’s passivation technology on its solar cells. Jinko added, it does not expect any disruption to normal operations as a result of the lawsuit.

The German poly manufacturer expects to increase sales in the current financial year, however EBITDA is expected to be down as much as 20% as average prices for polysilicon will continue to decline.

In the run-up to the Energy Storage Europe conference, pv magazine is featuring the top ten developments in the field as our Energy Storage Highlights, selected by an independent jury. In recent weeks we have covered self-sufficient homes, retro ceramic storage technologies, open source software for storage systems, thermoelectric energy storage and island grids in the Maldives. Now, we have nearly made it to the top of our leaderboard.

The Korean solar manufacturer has lodged a patent infringement lawsuit against Jinko and REC in Germany, and two more against the same companies plus Longi in the U.S. Hanwha Q Cells claims its three rivals have used its patented solar cell passivation technology to increase the performance of their products.

Having launched a residential storage system, the German giant announced plans last week to acquire inverter maker Kaco and start a new smart infrastructure business from April 1. In light of those moves, pv magazine spoke to IHS Markit’s Cormac Gilligan about the new kid, albeit huge, on the block.

In the run-up to the Energy Storage Europe conference pv magazine is featuring the top ten developments in the field as our Energy Storage Highlights, selected by an independent jury. Having recently covered a thermoelectric energy storage system by MAN and Trina’s literal island grid in the Maldives, we are entering our top three.

After announcing its entry into residential storage a week ago, the Munich-based multinational has now unveiled a plan to acquire inverter manufacturer Kaco. Siemens has not provided details about the value of the transaction.