solar cell

China PV module manufacturer Risen Energy has completed the acquisition of Dunan Solar’s polysilicon business and is now operating a 12,000 MT factory. Shanghai-listed PV equipment supplier JYT Corporation wants to build a 24 GW polysilicon manufacturing facility in Sichuan Province.

Frank van Mierlo, the CEO of 1366 Technologies, is a betting man. And he’s betting your humble narrator that high-efficiency tandem solar cells are the near-term commercial future of solar.

New outdoor tests conducted at Saudi research center King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have shown that an increase in temperature affects the performance of a tandem perovskite/silicon solar cell not only because of voltage losses but also because of current mismatch between the two sub-cells.

Scientists in Europe took a very close look at the thin amorphous silicon layers used in heterojunction and tandem solar cells, building a full picture of the material’s structure at the nanoscale. Their findings could help scientists solve the long-standing mystery of light induced degradation.

China’s largest PV manufacturers claim limits placed on solar glass production two years ago, to prevent over production, are now causing an industry bottleneck.

In a new paper published in the journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, renowned PV scientist Pierre Verlinden examines the solar industry’s trajectory towards the 70 TW of installed capacity that will be needed by 2050, as the best choice for meeting climate targets set out in the 2015 Paris agreement. Silver consumption and recycling, according to Verlinden, will be the biggest challenges in the years to come, as well as ensuring balanced growth and avoiding a major installation rush in the years close to 2050.

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.

NREL’s new solar window darkens in the heat of the sun, producing electricity via embedded perovskite film. The tech is based on formamidinium-based metal halide perovskite, an inherently thermochromic material exhibiting significant optical changes.

Researchers in Singapore have developed a 6.4 cm2 solar module based on co-evaporated methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3). They claim that the panel is a step forward in the industrialization of perovskite mini-modules.

Leading Edge Equipment Technologies falls in the kerfless solar wafer or direct solar wafer category. Its “drop-in” manufacturing tech cuts wafer costs by 50%, drives up commercial PV power by 7%, and reduces manufacturing emissions by 50%. It’s the emissions piece that may be winning over investors.