Germany

German wafer manufacturer Nexwafe is currently trying to commercialize its highly efficient monocrystalline wafer technology.

German investors have agreed to back a hydrogen project in Namibia, while Plug Power and Thyssenkrupp Nucera have announced separate hydrogen-related deals in Sweden.

The Allgäu company has expanded production at its headquarters in Wildpoldsried and can now produce around 120,000 systems a year. Sonnen’s move to accelerate expansion reflects the sharp rise in demand for PV home storage systems in Germany.

Local communities in Germany have the opportunity to operate ground-mounted PV systems via simplified contracts for existing systems or contracts for new, repowered systems.

A new study by the University of Hohenheim shows that shading from PV systems can improve agricultural yields, especially in dry periods, but additional research is needed.

Prolux Solutions has developed a redox flow battery with a charging and discharging capacity of 4 kW and 5 kW of peak power. It is designed to be coupled with PV systems in homes with high consumption profiles.

NEOM Green Hydrogen Company has secured an exclusive 30-year off-take agreement with Air Products for what they claim will be the world’s largest green hydrogen plant, while Germany’s EEX has launched the world’s first market-based hydrogen index.

Oxford PV, a leading perovskite solar pv company with operations in England and Germany, achieved power conversion efficiency of 28.6% for a two-terminal perovskite-silicon tandem cell measuring 258.15 cm² cell: A world record for a device based on a ‘full size’ silicon wafer. The record was certified by Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE).

Germany installed around 3.7 GW of new PV systems in the first four months of 2023.

Fraunhofer ISE is leading a project that is developing methods to characterize perovskite-based tandem modules, in an effort to facilitate their industrial implementation. A specially built Wavelabs solar simulator is now being used at the institute’s CalLab PV Modules.