Solar Cells

US scientists have made light-tracking, three-junction tandem PV cells with an active area of 650 × 650 square micrometers. They are based on indium gallium phosphide, gallium arsenide, and indium gallium arsenide antimony nitride and use photonic crystal film for maximum efficiency.

Talesun has begun work on its 5 GW factory in Siyang county, Jiangsu province and China’s second-largest grid operator, China Southern Power Grid, has announced around 200 GW of renewable energy capacity will be deployed on its service area over the next 10 years.

Scientists from Switzerland fabricated a dye-sensitized solar cell with a new tailored organic photo-sensitizer coded MS5 and a copper (II/I) electrolyte. A device solely sensitized with MS5 showed an open-circuit voltage of 1.24 V, which the researchers said is a record value among copper-based Grätzel cells.

A US-Taiwanese research group has created a new spin coating method which they claim can be applied in the mass production of mini perovskite panels. The scientists used sulfolane as an additive in the perovskite precursor to convert the perovskite phase via a new reaction route. They demonstrated a mini-module with a power conversion efficiency of 16.06% and an active area of 36.6 cm2.

Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor began building its new wafer manufacturing facility in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Shanghai Electric is setting up a hydrogen research center with the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

French research institute CEA-Liten has created a technique that consists of using a diamond wire to cut through the photovoltaic cells, separating the module’s glass front face from the polymer-based backsheet. The process is claimed to be low-polluting and low-energy.

Scientists in the United States have analyzed how semitransparent organic solar cells placed on the roof of a greenhouse may impact crop production. They assessed, in particular, how solar power generation may affect lettuce crops and found that the plants not only grow unhindered but also that the solar cells reduce overheating in the greenhouse.

Russian scientists have developed a holographic film based on prismatic concentrators that reduces the operating temperature of solar panels, including thermal-photovoltaic devices. They claim the patented, low-cost technique can even improve PV module efficiency in cloudy weather.

Chinese researchers have taken a quaternary approach to fabricate a module with an area of 19.34 cm2, a geometrical filling factor of 95.5%, and an efficiency of 12.36%.

The German polysilicon manufacturer reported higher sales volumes and a better product mix for its polysilicon segment.