Manufacturing

In its latest monthly column for pv magazine, the International Renewable Energy Agency shares a series of recommendations gathered from sector experts to help India reach its ambitious solar targets. According to its experts, Quality Infrastructure (QI) will be crucial for the country’s PV market in the years to come. QI is an interdependent ecosystem of the different elements (accreditation, certification, standards, testing, metrology, inspection & monitoring) working together in harmony, and all associated services should be developed in unity and not in a piecemeal fashion. A sound and internationally harmonized QI not only ensures that PV products and services deliver as expected by customers and national energy authorities, but also enables more efficient and competitive markets based on a global economy on scale.

The Renewable Energy Test Center (RETC) raised the issue of ultraviolet-induced degradation of the trending technology in its PV Module Index 2022.

Indian scientists have built a four-terminal silicon-perovskite solar cell that uses a top perovskite device with an efficiency of up to 17.1%. The top cell incorporates a room-temperature sputtered transparent conducting electrode (TCE) as a rear electrode.

Gayatri Dadheech, chief technology officer at Exide Industries Ltd, told pv magazine their first-phase 6 GWh lithium-ion cell manufacturing capacity in India would become operational by December next year and will produce lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) and nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cells. The following 6 GWh, targeted by 2027, could be based on advanced lithium-ion, solid-state, or other battery technology.

Thin-film technologies have long promised to make a major impact on the solar industry but have largely been constrained to niche applications and research labs if they were not shredded by the market. After several false starts, current trade dynamics and promising research programs may help solar thin films find their place in the sun.

US President Joe Biden’s two-year halt on solar import tariffs is designed to create a bridge of supply as the United States ramps up its domestic manufacturing capacity.

Kunwer Sachdev, the founder of Su-kam brand inverters in India, has converted his farmhouse in Gurugram into an R&D and manufacturing facility for new-age solar and lithium battery storage products under his new venture Su-vastika Systems. He speaks to pv magazine about their offerings including mobile energy storage, lithium battery tester, solar inverters, and more.  

India’s largest natural gas company plans to partner with an undisclosed company to undertake vertically integrated solar manufacturing. 

Mauritian researchers have developed a solar tracker prototype that increases current by around 37%. The device uses a simplified and mechanical tracking system.

Indian manufacturer Navitas Solar is ramping up its PV panel capacity to 1.7 GW per year by adding a new 1.2 GW manufacturing facility. The new facility can produce M10 and G12 mono PERC and TOPCon modules.