Research

The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and First Solar have used cracked film lithography (CFL) to build a bifacial cadmium telluride solar cell with a power density of 20.3 mW cm−2. They claim the cell has a higher bifacial power density than any polycrystalline absorber currently manufactured at scale.

Finnish and German researchers have assessed the role of seasonal hydrogen storage for PV prosumer households with a “least-cost” model at a global level up to 2050. They have found that seasonal hydrogen storage can only be expected in a niche, off-grid market.

Scientists in Turkey have demonstrated that sepiolite, a naturally occurring clay substance, can be added to perovskite precursor materials, and form a scaffold layer that can improve the efficiency and stability of the cells. The scientists believe that this substance could be valuable in developing reproducible processes for the production of large-area perovskite solar cells.

Scientists in Italy have looked at how flywheel storage and reversible solid oxide cells could be integrated with lithium-ion batteries in minigrids powered by solar. They found that flywheels combined with batteries could be the cheapest option for power smoothing.

Scientists in South Korea have developed a flexible, transparent solar cell with an average visible transmittance (AVT) of 88.3%. They have also created an n-type rear window layer to optimize bifacial operation.

Finnish researchers have studied different scenarios to convert a Nordic oil-heated townhouse into a carbon-neutral building. They dimensioned an off-grid PV-powered heat pump system using waste heat recovery from a hydrogen storage system and calculated its life-cycle cost. They concluded that the solution is less profitable than grid-connected systems.

Taiwanese researchers have developed a system featuring a 2 × 2 Fresnel lens array and a solar panel made of III-V materials and polycrystalline solar cells, with low light leakage.

An international research group created a triple-junction perovskite solar cell with an efficiency of 24.3% and a quasi-steady-state efficiency of 23.3%. The prototype cell, which has been independently certified by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), features rubidium/cesium mixed-cation inorganic perovskites with a bandgap of around 2.0 eV to suppress light-induced phase segregation.

Scientists in the Netherlands have developed a new crystalline solar cell based on poly-SiOx passivating contacts. The poly-SiOx tech results in a 20% efficiency rating, but 4T tandem perovskite-silicon solar cells based on the poly-SiOx cell can reach an efficiency of 28.1%, and 2T tandem perovskite-silicon devices can hit 23.2%.

Scientists in South Korea have developed a highly soluble, stable organic redox-active molecule for use in aqueous redox flow batteries. The newly developed naphthalene diimide (NDI) molecule offered higher storage capacity than existing vanadium devices.