Manufacturing

The rebranding to Saft Urja—from Amco Saft—reflects the battery manufacturer’s strategic approach to better leverage the Indian market. The company has also announced plans to increase its production capacity at Bangalore factory by 20%, enhance the workforce at its design office and launch new industrial battery products for India region.

The Japanese firm, which established the lab in association with Germany-headquartered technical advisor PI Berlin, eventually plans to set up a diagnostic business for solar panels and power plants in India.

The challenge covers battery storage innovations for both power and electric mobility space. Winning technologies will get a grant of up to $50,000.

Available in four different products, the series features a conversion efficiency of 20-21.2%. Two of the panels are packaged in a sleek, all-black aesthetic.

Manufacturers have until December 23 to bid for supplying 100,000 quantities of 4.5W (4-/5-busbar) and 4.60W (5-busbar) cells each. 

A new report says that the nation would require an estimated annual battery capacity of 158 GWh to realize its 2030 electric vehicle (EV) adoption target. Meeting this potential demand would require investments exceeding INR 85,900 crore (US$ 12.3 billion) in case battery manufacturing is 100% indigenized.

It is now a well-established trend. After the switch to larger wafer sizes played out in 2019, this year has seen virtually all of the biggest PV manufacturers introduce new modules in dimensions above the 2-meter mark, and with power ratings in excess of 500 W – in some cases, as high as 800 W. As these modules begin to roll off production lines in larger quantities, it’s vital to take a look at the challenges and opportunities they bring to system design, installation, and long-term operation.

Sino-Australian manufacturer Clenergy has unveiled a new mounting solution for PV panels installed in balconies. The structure is adjustable to different types of commonly-sized balconies with metal railings.

Use of the term “circular economy” is growing in virtually every industry worldwide – solar included. As noted throughout Q3, in the UP initiative’s focus on circular manufacturing, work is already underway to integrate circular principles into all areas of business, from internal operations and supply chain management to manufacturing and installations. In a recent analysis of PV recycling, BloombergNEF detailed six conclusions for the solar industry and those who are trying to make it more circular. Cecilia L’Ecluse, solar associate, and Julia Attwood, head of advanced materials at BloombergNEF share these conclusions as part of our quarterly theme on PV module recycling.

Manufacturers have until December 4 to bid for the supply of 286,000 multicrystalline silicon solar cells using five bus bars. The cells are required in the peak power rating of 4.62W (10,000 quantities), 4.67Wp (60,000) and 4.72Wp (216,000).