Perovskites stick together for better performance
Scientists in the U.S. demonstrated an additive that acts as a “molecular glue” within a perovskite solar cell. Treating the cells with this self-assembled monolayer material was shown to greatly improve their long-term performance, whilst also providing a boost to conversion efficiency. And the scientists further point out that the treatment relies on simple processing and readily available materials – good signs for its applicability in manufacturing.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Tongwei raises cell prices, Longi joins forces with Engie
The Chint Group has also said it was China’s largest PV plant owner at the end of 2020 with more than 5.7 GW in operation.
CNBM wants to set up GW-scale production of CdTe solar panels in China
German PV production equipment provider Singulus will supply the vacuum coating systems for the new production. The Chinese conglomerate currently operates CIGS panel production facilities at four different locations in China.
The best radiative cooling tech for PV arrays
Scientists in China have analyzed the radiative cooling techniques used in combination with solar energy systems such as PV arrays, solar thermal collectors, and concentrated PV installations. They identified five major system typologies based on functionality and working time.
Semitransparent selenium solar cell for applications in tandem devices
The bifacial device showed a power conversion efficiency of 5.2% on the front side through an n-type contact and 2.7% on the rear side through a p-type contact.
Industry reacts to India’s production-linked PV incentive scheme
Indian solar manufacturers have welcomed the bidding criteria for incentives to set up gigawatt-scale, high-efficiency PV production lines, but said that they would like a bigger budget to finance significant capacity build-out.
16.63%-efficient perovskite PV module via slot-die coating
Scientists in China have developed a large-area perovskite solar panel by utilizing diphenyl sulfoxide (DPSO) as an electron acceptor. The device was fabricated via slot-die coating, and featured a parallel-interconnection architecture.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Xinte seeks to raise $309 million for 100,000-ton polysilicon factory
Furthermore, Luoyang Glass reported first-quarter net profits of RMB136 million (US$21 million) and TBEA Xinjiang New Energy announced the settlement of a dispute over a 99 MW wind farm.
A different angle on perovskite defects
Scientists in China took a closer look at the role of defects in limiting the performance of perovskite solar cells, demonstrating a screening effect that could be tuned to make material defects “invisible” to charge carriers, greatly improving cell performance. Using this approach they demonstrate a 22% efficient inverted perovskite solar cell, and theorize several new pathways to even higher performance.
Solar pavement for historic square in Barcelona
The municipal government of Barcelona is supporting the development of a 50-square-meter pilot project to test the feasibility of PV-paving tech.
