Technology

US start-up mPower Technology is scaling up its flexible crystalline silicon solar module technology for spatial and terrestrial applications. The back-contact solar panels consist of micro-singulated silicon dies that are “hyper-interconnected” in series or in parallel. The devices have efficiency ranging from 22 to 23% depending on the size or applications.

Scientists in Germany designed a poly-Si on oxide (POLO) interdigitated back-contact (IBC) solar cell integrating photon crystals and found this architecture has the potential to reach a power conversion efficiency of over 28%, which would be 1% higher than the current practical limit set by the scientific community. They also found that by improving passivation, the efficiency may be raised up to 29.1%.

Silicon carbide (SiC) has promised inverter makers higher power density, higher efficiency, and a total bill of materials that comes in closer to its more established rival in silicon. Has SiC finally arrived? Tristan Rayner spoke to the people at the forefront of the wider-bandgap material to find out the back story and what’s next.

The Green Hydrogen Policy is designed to promote green hydrogen and green ammonia projects with provisions like 25-year waiver of inter-state transmission (ISTS) charges and ISTS connectivity on priority for renewable energy capacity set up for the purpose. 

French start-up Rosi Solar has developed an industrial solution claimed to be capable of recovering high purity silicon, silver and copper contained in end-of-life PV modules. The company’s technology is based on a pyrolysis process that makes it possible to isolate the different metals from the cells.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar have developed a solar power system that can be easily moved between farms to pump water for irrigation. The kit comprises solar panels and an inverter to power a surface-mounted pump.

Scientists in the United States developed a lithium-sulfur battery using a commercially available carbonate electrolyte, that retained more than 80% of its initial capacity after 4000 cycles. The group used a vapor deposition process which unexpectedly produced a form of sulfur that did not react with the electrolyte, overcoming one of the key challenges for this battery chemistry.

India and Australia have signed a letter of intent to cooperate on scaling up the manufacture and deployment of ultra-low-cost solar and clean hydrogen.

The Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, and the Innovation Fund Denmark (IFD) have collaborated to fund Indian and Danish researchers on the joint development of green fuels including green hydrogen. 

Soluna’s new generator can be combined in a two-unit system to reach a capacity of 2.5kWh. It features built-in 120V(AC) output, continuous AC output power of 1,200W, and peak output of up to 2,400W.