Japan

A report from Australia’s Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre which analysed the development of battery hubs in the U.S., Germany and Japan, has found that co-location and cooperation between industry and government were key to their success. For Australia to play the same game, it will have to leverage its wealth of resources, and clean up its act along the way.

The Vietnamese solar manufacturer presented its new half-cut monocrystalline PERC PV module at last week’s Intersolar Europe. It features an efficiency of 21.38% efficiency and maximum power output of 605 W.

The system has dimensions of 834×417×1,766 mm and weighs 205 kg including the design panel. It achieves an electrical efficiency of 56% and can be connected with a hot water storage unit.

Storing hydrogen in carbon nanotubes and other nanostructures is still far from reaching commercial maturity. A Japanese research team, however, has developed a new simulation technology that may help better estimate the energy needed to favor the ideal interaction between hydrogen and its storage material.

The IEC/EN61215 and IEC/EN61730-certified panel features 144 half-cells based on M10 wafers and a 10-busbar design. Its operating temperature coefficient is -0.341% per degree Celsius and its power tolerance reaches up to 5%.

Scientists in Japan delved deep into the crystalline structure of a perovskite solar cell in order to understand how chlorine helps to improve the cells’ stability. By varying the concentration of chlorine in the material they were able to find an optimal level for increased stability, and open new doors on the way to understanding the specific role of chlorine and the mechanism behind the improvement.

The result is claimed to be the highest efficiency ever reached for a large-area, polymer film-based perovskite photovoltaic module. The device has an area of 703 square centimeters and was fabricated through a new coating method.

The portable module has a foldable design with a four-panel structure and a power output of 100 W. It also incorporates a Suncast module that indicates the best height and tilt angle it must have to ensure optimal yield.

Origin Energy, Australia’s biggest energy retailer, has agreed to team with Japan’s largest oil refiner, Eneos, to explore the potential for a commercial-scale green hydrogen supply chain between their respective home markets.

Next Energy and Marubeni are developing a blockchain tech for PV module inspection – with the support of the Japanese government – which they claim is able to provide data on a panel’s traceability and components as well as verifying that the data were not modified or tampered with.