World

Vegard Vollset, Vegard Wiik Vollset, Vice President at Rystad Energy, spoke with pv magazine about the global solar module supply chain and the possibility of producing polysilicon in Europe and the United States. He said solar module prices will inevitably continue to fall over the short term.

Bill Mulligan, CEO of Maxeon, spoke to pv magazine at the recent Intersolar 2023 trade show about the Singapore-based module manufacturer’s expansion plans and tech roadmap, as well as current oversupply challenges. He said Maxeon plans to develop IBC products and TOPCon panels in shingle formats.

Total investment in European solar startups surged by nearly 400% year on year in the January-May period. Companies secured $6 billion of new funds, from just $1.2 billion raised during the same period in 2022, according to data from Avent Abacus.

Cemil Seber – managing director EMEA / vice president global marketing, product management & corporate strategy at REC – spoke to pv magazine at the recent Intersolar 2023 trade show about the company’s focus on heterojunction (HJT) tech. He said REC retains a technological edge over its rivals and new players entering the HJT segment, and hinted at potential capacity expansion plans.

Lhyfe has started producing offshore hydrogen via a pilot project in France, and Toyota and its partners have agreed to invest in hydrogen in Thailand. The Australian authorities, meanwhile, have approved a hydrogen project in Victoria.

Research carried out by China‘s National Photovoltaic Quality Inspection Center shows that new n-type TOPCon modules are living up to their promise, outperforming the previous generation of p-type PERC products. Data gathered over six months from a fixed-tilt PV system showed that the n-type products produced 3.69% more energy, and also suffered much lower performance losses.

George Hilton, research manager at S&P Global, spoke to pv magazine at the recent Intersolar 2023 trade show about the latest energy storage trends. He said the industry needs easy-to-install products and more efficient supply chains, and noted that battery prices are highly volatile because they fluctuate in response to changes in the dynamic Chinese electric vehicle market.

With its new module, the company is targeting domestic and small industrial installation applications with a product designed specifically for small spaces.

A group of researchers from Utrecht University analyzed offshore floating photovoltaic (OFPV) systems to determine reasons for enhanced performance compared with land-based systems. Out of their research, the team developed two regression models to help predict yield advantages when siting projects.

The world’s most efficient energy network, at an Antarctic research base, has had a solar upgrade.