Western Europe

Researchers in the United States claim to have significantly increased the efficiency of a perovskite solar cell by applying a range of pressures to the device. According to them, pressure-assisted processes such as lamination, cold welding and rolling/roll-to-roll processing can be used to improve interfacial surface contacts in perovskite cells.

Rivas-Vaciamadrid-based company Aurinka is planning to start UMG silicon manufacturing in Puertollano, Castile-La Mancha, this year. The company says its patented low-carbon production process offers low enough manufacturing costs to compete with Asian rivals.

German panel maker Sonnenstromfabrik has developed a glass-glass monocrystalline PV module in three versions offering different levels of transparency. The company says the transparency feature makes the panels suitable for verandas, pergolas, awnings, carports, swimming pools, halls and facades. Their power output varies from 160 W to 280 W, while their efficiency ranges from 9.5% to 16.7%.

The country’s coalition government reached an agreement on Monday to remove the limit from the national renewable energy law. However, economy minister Peter Altmaier has not said when the measure will be implemented.

Energy company EPV Energy is planning to build a 100 MW solar park to replace peat energy production. Peers Wärtsilä and Vantaa Energy are planning a power-to-gas facility to produce carbon-neutral synthetic biogas using electricity and carbon dioxide from a waste-to-energy plant.

Pure EVs had begun to claim a rising market share before coronavirus containment measures decimated sales last month. Even in the face of an 88% monthly fall in EV sales from March to April, however, clean energy models fared better than petrol and diesel sales.

Hive Energy has been planning the Cleve Hill Solar Park since 2017. It now expects to secure final approval from the U.K. Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy by the end of this month.

Scientists in Germany and China have developed an additive which greatly improved the performance of a tin-based perovskite solar cell. Cells fabricated with the additive reached 9.1% efficiency, and the researchers say their work opens up many new possibilities to improve the performance of lead-free perovskites.

A Spanish start-up has developed a system which offers automated fault detection in solar panels at any scale.

German engineering association the VDMA expects a difficult year because of the Covid-19 crisis. Sales had already dropped considerably last year and the current order intake level offers no glimpse of hope. However, the public health crisis may offer business in new markets determined to break a dependence on Chinese panels.