World

A US research team has developed a new technique to produce hydrogen from sunlight and water. It works in an indoor environment and uses pure water, concentrated solar light, and an indium gallium nitride photocatalyst.

New research from UNSW in Australia outlines the need for solar cell and module makers to reduce or eliminate the use of silver in their products. Based on expected PV growth, in line with climate change commitments, solar manufacturers would require at least 85% of global silver reserves, according to the new study.

IHS Markit has published a new review of recent trends in solar and storage.

Hopefuls from 40 different countries submitted entries to the pv magazine Awards in 2022, with more regions represented than ever before. This reflects the industry’s increasing global relevance and the importance all regions are placing on local innovation and production. Here we present the seven winners, who will be honored once again in a live Award ceremony on Jan. 17th, staged alongside the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi and as part of the 11th MESIA Solar Awards Ceremony.

Norway’s Inseanergy has developed floating solar tech for aquaculture projects. It recently commissioned its first commercial array – a 290 kW floater for salmon-farming specialist Bjoroya – in addition to a 160 kW installation for a cod fish farm.

China’s Huasun launched a new line of five heterojunction (HJT) solar modules in 2022, with power outputs ranging from 680 W to 700 W. The company has now added a new 715 W module to the series, with an efficiency rating of 23.02%.

Scientists in Morocco recently conducted a year-long study on the impacts of soiling on PV modules in arid, dusty conditions. They found that soiling could contribute to daily performance losses of as much as 15%.

Sakura Yamasaki, the founder and CEO of Singapore Solar Exchange, speaks to pv magazine about China’s recent decision to launch the trading of industrial silicon futures, following a year of high polysilicon prices. Yamasaki discusses the potential impact on polysilicon prices in China, the outlook for domestic price stabilization and risk mitigation, and what this might mean for the global solar industry in 2023. 

Bslbatt has released three new hybrid inverters with nominal power ratings of 3.6 kW, 4.6 kW, and 5 kW. The line also has an efficiency rating of 98.0% and a European efficiency of 97.0%.

With AI-enabled devices able to take the money-saving efficiency of lithium batteries to an incredibly granular level, research by Inion Software shows simple changes by inverter manufacturers would enable devices of almost any age to be “smartened up.”