World

Supply shortages and price increases slowed solar stocks in April, writes Jesse Pichel of ROTH Capital Partners. In the United States, however, new policies promise to foster growth in the second half of the year.

Furthermore, Canadian integrated energy company Suncor and Canadian holding company ATCO are looking into a potential “world scale clean hydrogen project” in Alberta, and Japanese energy company Eneos and Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer Toyota Motor, are exploring hydrogen applications at Woven City, a prototype city in Japan.

Hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels will not be able to move forward fast enough to replace fossil fuels and tackle climate change, according to a German-Swiss research team that claims direct electrification alternatives are cheaper and easier to implement. The scientists cite too-high prices, short-term scarcity and long-term uncertainty, as the main reasons for their skepticism.

Scientists in the U.S. demonstrated an additive that acts as a “molecular glue” within a perovskite solar cell. Treating the cells with this self-assembled monolayer material was shown to greatly improve their long-term performance, whilst also providing a boost to conversion efficiency. And the scientists further point out that the treatment relies on simple processing and readily available materials – good signs for its applicability in manufacturing.

Compressed air energy storage (CAES) may become an interesting solution for countries with weak interconnection with their neighbors, according to scientists from Finland’s Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). North America and sub-Saharan Africa were found to have the largest portion of suitable areas for this kind of storage technology, and Western Canada in particular, to have the world’s strongest potential.

The pursuit of higher conversion efficiencies is an eternal theme in the PV industry. Among all the links in the chain, cell technology is the most fundamental and decisive element. As we look beyond the established PERC technology, whether heterojunction or TOPCon will become the dominant “next-gen” solar cell among China’s manufacturing giants is emerging as a balancing act between incumbent and upstart, reports Vincent Shaw from Shanghai.

Australia and Chile are both granting funds to green hydrogen projects and Denmark is exempting pilot power-to-gas projects from complying with its energy legislation. Furthermore, the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP is working to find solutions for private customers to produce hydrogen.

Scientists in the UK reported a breakthrough in lithium-oxygen batteries, achieved by experimenting with different electrolyte compositions. Working with ionic liquids, they were able to tweak the electrolyte recipe to minimize unwanted reactions during battery cycling, and greatly improve on both performance and stability.

US based battery company Solid Power announced that it has received $130 million in new funding from investors including Ford and BMW. With this backing, the company plans to begin pilot scale production of solid-state lithium-ion batteries suitable for electric vehicles early next year.

In a recent pv magazine webinar, module degradation experts took our audience through the role of temperature and mechanical stress in causing modules to under-perform. We were treated to a look at some impressive results for modules integrated with Coolback – a solution that replaces the backsheet/rear glass and frame in a conventional panel and promises lower operating temperatures and better mechanical strength. Here, Simon Meijer and Alex Masolin, from Coolback – along with Fraunhofer ISE’s Andreas Beinert – answer some of the questions we didn’t have time for during the live broadcast.