Mexico leads Latin American countries in global silver production
Commodity Trading Club (CTC) says Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina together supply more than half the world’s silver output, a cornerstone metal for solar and clean-tech industries.
Forschungszentrum Jülich achieves world record 23.08% efficiency for copper-metallized heterojunction solar cell
The cell reportedly exhibits only a 0.4% efficiency loss compared to a reference device that underwent full silver metallization.
Silver prices surge, yet ‘thrifting’ poses little threat to solar cell, module quality
With silver prices nearing $50 per ounce, researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) tell pv magazine that efforts to reduce silver use in solar cells will not compromise module quality if properly engineered.
Silver price surge drives PV makers to cut silver usage further
The price of silver rose above $44 per ounce this week after gaining more than 30% in six months, with silver expert Philip Newman telling pv magazine it could exceed $50 per ounce next year, raising pressure on PV module makers to curb silver use.
Copper-metalized heterojunction solar cells close to achieve same efficiency as silver-based counterparts
Researchers in Germany have shown that heterojunction solar cells screen printed with silver-copper on the front side and silver paste on the rear side can achieve a 0.13% efficiency gain over reference screen-printed bifacial cells based on silver alone. The research group worked specifically on dispensing and screen printing as printing methods.
PV industry could account for 40% of global silver demand by 2030
New research from Europe shows that the global PV industry may require up to 14,000 tonnes of silver per year in 2030, with global supply being only 34,000 tonnes. The scientists said more efforts should be made to reduce silver content in TOPCon and heterojunction solar cells.
Improving LECO-compatible silver pastes to ensure TOPCon reliabilty
Researchers in China have created new silver pastes for TOPCon solar cell LECO manufacturing. The new pastes integrate either aluminum, gallium or iron and can reportedly keep cells’ electrodes securely anchored to the silicon cell surface due to the enhanced stability of the lead oxide (PbO) component in the glass powder.
DKEM acquires majority stake in silver paste specialist Solamet
Wuxi Dk Electronic Materials Co., Ltd. (DKEM) is acquiring a 60% stake in Solamet. The Chinese silver paste supplier says it aims to absorb Solamet’s patented solar paste technology and global client base amid mounting margin pressures.
TOPCon solar cell built with silver-doped nickel metallization achieves 23.66% efficiency
Scientists in Turkiye claim to have developed a nickel-based TOPCon solar cell with a minimal silver content and almost the same efficiency as fully silver metallized counterparts. The device uses a new nickel contact method that requires a trace of silver of only 0.5 mg/W.
Silver-lean screen-printing can reduce silver use in TOPCon solar cells by 40%
An international research team has developed a metallization technique for TOPCon solar cells that can reportedly reduce silver usage in the devices’ rear side by 85%. The scientists replaced the commonly used Ag fingers with intermittent Ag dashes for contact formation and Ag-free fingers and busbars for electrical conduction.
