University of New South Wales

With silver prices rising, more large solar manufacturers are expected to switch to copper for cell metallization. Radovan Kopecek of ISC Konstanz tells pv magazine that he expects the entire industry to follow. Ning Song of the University of New South Wales says a small efficiency tradeoff may be acceptable if the cost savings are significant and do not introduce new reliability risks.

Researchers at University of New South Wales have reported details about a novel sieving-aids technology that improves the separation of metal fragments from other components when recycling end-of-life PV panels. The patented process reportedly enhances the recovery of silver.

The research group led by Professor Martin Green has published Version 64 of the solar cell efficiency tables. There are 19 new results reported in the new version.

Researchers in Australia have compared the technical and financial performances of a hydrogen battery storage system and a lithium-ion battery when coupled with rooftop PV. They evaluated two commercially available systems – LAVO and Tesla Powerwall 2 – and found that the lithium-ion battery provides better financial profits, whereas the hydrogen battery offers more battery lifespan for long duration of energy storage.

The research group led by Professor Martin Green has published Version 63 of the solar cell efficiency tables. There are six new results reported in the new version.

The research group led by Professor Martin Green has published Version 62 of the solar cell efficiency tables. There are 21 new results reported in the new version, a record number for the Tables.

Perovskite-silicon tandem technology expert Gianluca Coletti explains what cycles the PV industry and scientific community experience every time there are new jumps in power conversion efficiencies at cell level. According to him, we are experiencing a much faster turnover of efficiency records typical of the early stage of development of a new technology holding an incredible potential.

University of New South Wales researchers have identified four failure modes caused by damp heat in heterojunction solar panels with a glass-back sheet configuration. The failures could result in power losses ranging from 5% to 50%.

Longi said it has achieved a 26.81% efficiency rating for an unspecified heterojunction solar cell, as confirmed by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH).

New research from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) predicts cumulative polysilicon demand of 46-87 Mt will be required to achieve 63.4 TW of PV installed by 2050.