Research

Scientists in Switzerland and South Korea looked deep into the crystalline structure of a perovskite thin-film to better understand the mechanisms behind the sensitivity to heat and moisture that causes so many stability issues for solar cells based on these materials. They discovered a part of the crystal’s surface that is particularly vulnerable to moisture-induced degradation, and developed an approach to grow perovskite thin-films with strong resistance to moisture and thermal stress.

Germany’s Fraunhofer FEP has unveiled a dirt-repellent coating for solar panels. The material is reportedly able to acquire superhydrophilic properties at night and wash away the dirt through the beading raindrops.

Researchers say that lightweight, high-performance perovskite solar modules could soon become competitive with crystalline PV modules in the residential segment, as such products will likely have lower manufacturing and balance-of-system costs in the future.

Antora Energy says its new 2 MW factory will make thermophotovoltaic cells for thermal storage applications. The cells are based on III-V semiconductors and reportedly have a heat-to-electricity conversion efficiency of more than 40%.

Solar and wind are being installed at a rate that is three times faster than all other new electricity sources combined. This offers compelling market-based evidence that PV and wind are now the most competitive and practical methods for deploying new generating capacity.

Italian researchers have analyzed different ways to assess the levelized cost of energy (LCoE) of perovskite solar cells and modules. They said a common approach should soon be defined to increase the market maturity of the tech.

The potential of perovskite solar cells and modules is still held back by issues such as stability and efficiency losses when scaling up from cell to module. But Annalisa Bruno, a scientist at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, says most of these challenges could be overcome in the near future, with this technology extending from building-integrated PV to conventional solar projects.

Egyptian researchers have used paraffin wax as a phase-change material (PCM) to reduce the operating temperatures of PV modules. They have found that the material improves power yield by more than 15%, compared to a reference module without cooling.

Scientists in Austria have developed a long-term energy storage system that uses regenerative braking to adjust the descent speed of sand in mine shafts and generate electricity.

Researchers and project developers throughout the world are increasingly looking at agrivoltaic installations with vertically oriented solar panels.