Technology and R&D

While many solar manufacturers are as yet undecided about which PV cell technology they will choose for their next high efficiency expansions, for Singapore-based REC, the future is HJT. pv magazine spoke to Cemil Seber, the managing director at REC Solar EMEA GmbH at the Intersolar Europe 2022 trade show, to dig deeper into these manufacturing plans.

US scientists have come up with an analytical way to evaluate the costs and net value of different configurations of large-scale wind and solar projects paired with battery storage. They identified six trends in the US electricity market and found that their framework is aligned with current commercial practices.

Aurora Energy Research says in a new report that maximum green hydrogen project profitability could be achieved when solar and wind power plants are combined with electrolyzers.

Sharp’s new 375 W solar panels feature multi-wire technology, with a power conversion efficiency of 20.4%.

Fraunhofer ISE have improved the performance of a cell structure originally developed by France’s Soitec in 2014. The German scientists managed to reduce resistance losses and the reflection on the cell front side.

Against all odds, China’s gross domestic product grew by 8.1% in 2021, up 5.8% year on year. Electricity consumption grew by 10.3%, up 7.2%. Taking this into account, it’s no surprise that China’s PV industry also reached new heights. Frank Haugwitz, the founder of the Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory (AECEA), takes a closer look at what is still by far the world’s largest PV market.

Researchers in China have fabricated a heterojunction solar cell with a 244.63 cm2 Czochralski n-c-Si wafer. They used light soaking to improve the dark conductance of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon films.

Cost efficiency while maximizing power output is the name of the game in solar project development and asset management. And the automation of the provision of utility scale solar operations and maintenance (O&M) is fast becoming one of the most compelling opportunities. Help shape the future of automation in solar O&M by completing this first-of-its kind survey.

Indian solar manufacturer Vikram Solar has been listed as a top performer in PV Evolution Labs (PVEL) PV Module Reliability Scorecard 2022 for its half-cut-cell, multi-busbar bifacial PV modules. 

Researchers in Singapore have developed a new technique in which polycrystalline silicon is pulverized into powder and pelletized into ingots. The process relies on spark plasma sintering to dope the silicon with germanium and phosphorus.