Solar Cells

An international research team has built an all-perovskite tandem solar cell based on a wide-bandgap top perovskite cell with a 20.5% efficiency. The 1-cm2 scale tandem device achieved the highest efficiency ever reported to date for all-perovskite solar cells of this size.

A study by German research institute Fraunhofer ISE has revealed a troubling trend. Data shows that modules are increasingly attributed higher power ratings than they actually have. Though the percentages are incremental, it all
adds up.

Jeffrey Saltman, partner at US intellectual property law firm Fisch Sigler LLP, recently spoke to pv magazine about the rising number of patent lawsuits between PV module manufacturers. He said this increase in litigation mainly stems from the industry’s convergence on tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) tech and noted that the number of lawsuits is likely to rise in the near future.

A Belgian-Dutch research team has defined new design guidelines for photovoltaics integrated in buildings or infrastructures. The proposed approach, which was validated through two demonstators, supports the manufacturing of semi-fabricates for integrated photovoltaics applications by enabling effective communication between project developers and module producers.

The Chinese company said that, under a new agreement, it will collaborate with Xinjiang Silk Road to produce high-efficiency HJT PV modules. It will supply silicon wafers, cells, modules, and more.

The U.S. solar panel manufacturer has sent letters to Longi, Trina Solar, Jinko Solar, JA Solar and Canadian Solar saying it believes the companies are infringing on its patents.

The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNMIA) says that prices for solar-grade polysilicon remain stable this week despite strong producer pricing intentions, as unresolved downstream demand issues are holding back sales potential.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

By regulating the secondary growth of lead iodide, an international group of scientists has built a perovskite solar cell with low non-radiative recombination and defect state density. The device reportedly exhibited superior stability in both humidity and thermal stability tests compared to reference cells.

Researchers from the two companies have built a lightweight and flexible silicon heterojunction (HJT) PV panel that measures 563 mm x 584 mm and weighs just 218.5 g.