Panasonic

The conversation around battery cell production may be heated, but it is largely confined to the advanced industrial economies of China, Japan, South Korea and the U.S. Although also a high-tech hub of innovation and manufacturing expertise, Europe has been on the outside looking in for some time. But that could all be about to change as two exciting storage production programs take flight.

The U.S. President’s proclamation provides a path for specific products to apply for exemption from tariffs, which had been sought by both SunPower and the government of South Korea. Additionally, imports from a number of developing nations are exempt as long as import levels remain small.

The Belgian research institute and the Japanese electronics group say they have developed a solid nanocomposite electrolyte with a lithium ion conductivity several times greater than in its liquid equivalent.

Panasonic recorded a net profit of JPY 118.9 billion ($1.04 billion) for the first half of the current fiscal year, from JPY 133.5 billion a year earlier, as sales of its PV systems fell.

Panasonic has decided to stop producing PV modules at a factory it owns near Kyoto, Japan. 

In its announcement, the company cited “business conditions in [its] part of the solar industry” as the reason for the closure, making it the second Oregon solar company to announce a closure in the past month.

Tesla described the test production as an “interim milestone” and told AP that it expects to begin ramping production by the end of the year.

Japanese trading firm Itochu has revealed plans to install 507 kW solar on the roof of a new mall in Jakarta, Indonesia. 

Singapore’s Sunseap Group has agreed to sell PV-generated electricity to ST Kinetics over a 25-year period across five locations in the Southeast Asian city-state.

German automaker Audi and California-based Alta Devices — a wholly owned subsidiary of troubled Chinese PV group Hanergy Thin Film Power (HTF) — have agreed to collaborate on thin-film solar research, with plans to exhibit a PV-integrated Audi prototype vehicle by the end of this year.