Solar Cells

A group of international researchers has developed a new perovskite-silicon solar cell design using a top perovskite PV device with an energy bandgap of 1.67 eV and a new self-assembly monolayer based on carbazole. The tandem cell achieved a higher efficiency compared to counterparts without the monolayer and passed the IEC 61215 standard thermal cycling test.

HoloSolis plans to build Europe’s largest PV factory – a 5 GW solar plant in France – by 2025. Heraeus will provide its latest metallization technologies for the factory and play an active role on the HoloSolis board of directors.

South Korea researchers have developed a cell by merging green algae with carbon nanofibers, in order to generate 9.5 W per cell and achieve a peak efficiency of 0.9%. They claim this is enough to power a micro-generation system for hydrogen production.

A British-Chinese research group has developed a novel heat pump concept consisting of a heat pump, the PCM tank, and tube solar heat collectors. Intended for demand shifting in space heating and domestic hot water (DHW) applications, the system is reportedly able to achieve a higher coefficient of performance than conventional heat pumps.

Solestial has secured a contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), valued at roughly $849,900, to develop ultra-thin PV for solar blanket wings on next-generation spacecraft.

French startup Koolboks has developed off-grid solar refrigerators that offer continuous refrigeration for up to four days via solar modules, ice storage, and lithium-ion batteries. The units are available for rental and include two LED lighting bulbs and USB ports to charge phones.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a black perovskite solar cell that reportedly achieved the the highest efficiency ever reported for PV devices built with this perovskite material and a dopant-free hole transport layer based on the P3HT polymer. The cell was also able to retain around 93% of its original efficiency after continuous illumination for 570 h.

A new imaging system for contactless defect detection in roll-to-roll printed thin film solar cell manufacturing lines is available from InfinityPV, a Danish printed electronics equipment manufacturer. The so-called ultrafast laser beam induced current mapping system is suitable for manufacturers of perovskite, organic, kesterite, copper indicum gallium diselenide (CIGS) and amorphous silicon PV foils and can be retrofitted into existing roll-to-roll lines.

Guosheng says it will invest CNY 5.2 billion ($722 million) in a new 10 GW heterojunction (HJT) solar cell production facility.

Ascent Solar, a US-based manufacturer, has achieved an efficiency of 17.55% for its copper, indium, gallium and selenide (CIGS) technology. It says it plans to release a new CIGS solar module with this efficiency rating soon.