South Korea

Korea National Railway has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea’s Qcells to expand solar deployment across railway assets as part of its energy transition strategy.

The South Korean government has announced plans to invest KRW 321 billion ($222.6 million) in 2026 to upgrade regional distribution networks, deploy 85 energy storage systems, and expand solar integration while piloting microgrids and market reforms.

Korea University researchers have developed a machine-learning framework that predicts solar cell efficiency from wafer quality, enabling early wafer screening and optimized production paths. Using over 100,000 industrial data points, the approach combines predictive modeling, process optimization, and explainable AI to support photovoltaic manufacturing.

Won Kwang S&T has developed a mobile, on-site solar module recycling system for utility-scale PV plants. The SolreBorn unit can reportedly process up to 2.5 tonnes of modules per day and improve the economics of solar panel recycling through on-site dismantling and material recovery.

South Korean researchers have developed a guided-learning framework that accurately predicts PV power without requiring irradiance sensors during operation, using routine meteorological data instead. The model reportedly showed strong out-of-sample performance while outperforming conventional irradiance-based approaches, particularly under noisy or inconsistent data conditions.

Researchers in South Korea improved the performance of tin monosulfide (SnS) solar cells with a potassium fluoride-assisted post-treatment and a vapor transport deposition process. The treated solar cells had a power conversion efficiency of 4.10% and reduced recombination sites, compared to 3.42% for untreated devices.

The South Korean giant said its new EHS All-in-One provides air heating and cooling, floor heating, and hot water from a single outdoor unit. It can supply hot water up to 65 C in below-zero weather.

GIST researchers have developed a perovskite mini-module with 22.56% efficiency by improving the SnO₂ electron transport layer with PEI, reducing defects and electron loss. The module retained 94% of its performance after 500 hours, highlighting potential for scalable, stable perovskite solar cells and modules.

Austrian engineering group Andritz has signed a deal to supply the pump turbine units for a 500 MW pumped storage plant in South Korea, the country’s first new pumped storage project in over a decade.

The facility will produce solar wafers for the U.S. market.