Manufacturing

Bids are invited from Indian manufacturers to supply four-/five-busbar multi-crystalline silicon solar cells rated for 4.5W peak output. Bidding closes on March 15.

Xinyi Solar has posted bullish annual figures on the back of an astonishing rebound in the global market following Covid travails at the start of 2020. There is one national market, however, which has not been invited to the party.

A numercal study by researchers at India’s Chitkara University has shown enhanced charge extraction in metal-perovskite-metal back-contact solar cell structure through electrostatic doping. The proposed design yielded a 59.4% improvement in power conversion efficiency over previously reported structures.

The new devices feature efficiencies ranging from 20.7-21%. The panels are said to be compatible with a wide range of slates and tiles, include special fixings for different batten thicknesses, and achieve the highest fire rating and wind resistance without modifications to the roof.

The solar panel-cleaning robot startup, which saw its sales jump 125 times last year, has thus far raised three levels of funding amounting to INR 2 crore from government bodies in India, Dubai, and Canada. 

India’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme—which targets 10 GW of integrated solar PV manufacturing capacity within two years—will spur demand for locally produced materials like ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) sheets, solar glass, backsheet and junction boxes, too.

The Telangana-headquartered lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery manufacturer has teamed up with Las Vegas-headquartered Barrel Energy to develop and manufacture lithium batteries for electric vehicles. The joint venture will establish factories in India and North America.

In various forms, quantum dot technology has attracted plenty of attention among PV researchers recently. And as efficiencies have crept past the 15% mark, the community is beginning to look at other factors limiting the viability of quantum dot solar cells in a commercial setting. Scientists in Germany examined the degradation mechanisms affecting different quantum dot materials; and suggest a standardization of stability testing to enable comparability of results.

The Indian automotive battery major has announced the setting up of a 50 MW solar power plant in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh. The plant—to be built at INR 220-crore investment—will help reduce the manufacturer’s carbon footprint while lowering its electricity bill. The firm, which has already set up a pilot plant facility for Lithium-ion cell development, is also mulling investments into energy storage for the renewables sector.

Scientists in India modeled the performance of tin-based perovskite (methylammonium tin triiodide) finding that with careful optimizations the material could achieve efficiencies beyond 28%.