Portable, space-saving solar towers
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi have developed solar towers that can be moved from one place to another and can generate 20-30% more power while requiring only 50-60% space compared to conventional mounting setups.
Storing solar power with grid-scale molten hydroxide
Seaborg Technologies, a Danish manufacturer of molten salt nuclear reactors, has turned a technology that was originally developed for nuclear power into a large-scale storage solution for wind and solar. It has developed a storage system that uses renewable energy to heat salt with electrical heaters, based on two-tank molten salt storage designs developed for concentrated solar power plants.
Solar-powered camper from Airstream is a two-wheeled electric car
The camper can be driven and parked without the use of a car, is integrated with solar, and optimized for the electric vehicle revolution.
Saatvik Solar doubles module capacity to 1GW with new fab
The Indian solar manufacturer’s new facility in Haryana is equipped to make mono PERC, half-cut, multi-busbar technology, to produce high-efficiency PV modules with 530-610Wp of power output.
Solar trailer for off-grid applications from France
Developed by French start-up Ecosun, the trailer is equipped with 15 solar panels with output of 360 W and batteries with a storage capacity of 23 kWh. It can be used for construction sites, military camps and water pumping systems.
Forget batteries, what if surplus renewable energy could be stored as information?
A pair of researchers from UC San Diego has proposed to precompute certain data when the grid is flooded with solar or wind power, and then store it on servers for later use.
Reversible photovoltaic shade under the Madrid sky
The 8 kW photovoltaic shade was deployed on the outdoor rest area of a commercial building located in the northern part of Madrid. It was built with conventional solar modules provided by JA Solar and a structure made with light galvanized steel profiles for plasterboard partitions.
Cobalt-free, solid-state, lithium-ion battery plant opens in Silicon Valley
U.S-based solid-state battery start-up Sparks has opened a pilot plant for its patented lithium battery technology based on zero cobalt cathodes. The company wants to challenge China’s dominance in next-gen battery development.
Multi-level fin heat sinks for solar module cooling
Developed by Malaysian scientists, the proposed multi-level aluminum fin heat sinks (MLFHS) were found able to reduce the module operating temperature by up to 8.45 degrees Celsius and increase power yield by up to 10.75%. The system cost was estimated at $0.60/W.
Perovskite solar cell with record-breaking fill factor of 86.6%
An international group of researchers has achieved the highest fill factor reported for perovskite cells of any size to date. The device was fabricated with a nitrogen-doped titanium oxide (TiOxNy) electron transport layer aimed at improving charge transport between the cell’s perovskite absorber and the electrodes.
