PV cells

Andries Wantenaar, a solar analyst at Rethink Energy, explains why he sees a bright future for perovskite PV cells, with technological advancements and major R&D investment paving the way for revolutionary change.

A combination of protectionist measures, attractive profit margins, and domestic content incentives has revitalized Turkey’s solar manufacturing industry. Jonathan Gifford asks whether the resurgent sector can become a player on the world stage.

Plans for Europe’s largest-ever PV cell and module factory are taking shape, with equipment orders placed and a projected start date in mid-2024. Enel Green Power has received €118 million ($116.36 million) in funding from the EU Innovation Fund to support the project, out of a total €600 million investment. The EU is hoping it will catalyze further investment in similar projects, and start a high-tech comeback for European solar manufacturing.

A successful initial public offering on the Istanbul stock exchange this year proved that a business model with an emphasis on solar cell and module manufacturing outside of China or Southeast Asia can find the backing of institutional investors. The landmark finance deal gives fresh shine to the ongoing discussions about the chances of re-establishing the crystalline silicon solar value chain in Europe.

Amid growing concerns about the global supply of raw materials, which battery chemistries have the best chance, if any, of supplanting lithium-ion devices?

The U.S. solar industry faces a moral dilemma, writes Paula Mints of SPV Market Research. Either continue to deploy projects and set aside concerns about forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region, or source PV cells and modules from elsewhere, while bearing higher costs, in the pursuit of urgent action against climate change.

Researchers in Spain have analyzed the most important technologies for the development of intermediate-band solar cells (IBSC), a solar PV technology that was conceived to exceed the Shockley–Queisser limit. They identified four established technologies that are currently being adopted to manufacture IB materials and IBSC prototypes. Their future goal is to find the appropriate material to fabricate cheap and very efficient IBSCs.

Several manufacturers recently brought average mono PERC cell efficiency to 22.5%, and efficiencies will likely go beyond 22.6% in the second half of this year. This suggests that p-PERC cell efficiency could be brought closer to that of n-type, making it more difficult for n-type cells to compete in the increasingly challenging market. Taking costs and market conditions into account, most manufacturers have slowed their capacity expansion plans, leading to a gap between actual output and production capacity. PV InfoLink’s Wells Wang sheds some light on n-type trends in 2020.

A US study has suggested the raised energy yield of bifacial perovskite devices effectively means they could have a lower environmental impact than conventional crystalline cells. The researchers considered single-junction cells with high and low bandgaps and similar, multi-junction devices with two and four-terminal structures.

Highline Technology GmbH has a production process in which metal contacts are applied without touching the front of solar cells, reportedly saving resources and raising efficiency.