Europe

SJVN Green Energy Ltd will pilot a 2 MW floating solar project based on Norwegian firm Ocean Sun’s membrane-based floater technology. Once this pilot project succeeds, the two companies will collaborate to deploy this technology on a large scale in the southern part of India. 

Indian solar module manufacturers will have significant opportunities until July 2024 to sell their products in the USA market. However, their exports to the USA may start stagnating from 2025 and declining from 2027 onwards as the USA develops domestic capacities under its Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), according to a new report by IEEFA and JMK Research.

Tanmoy Duari, chief executive officer at Axitec Energy India, told pv magazine that the planned capacity, 300 MW in Gujarat and another 300 MW in Tamil Nadu, will produce n-type TOPCon solar modules. Production will start in the first quarter of 2024.

Birla Carbon has acquired Belgium’s carbon nanotube manufacturer Nanocyl as it looks to establish a leadership position in materials critical to lithium-ion battery performance.

Swiss-Germany company LUXRA Group and India’s Rayzon Solar have agreed to form a joint venture for PV module production in India. The partnership will combine LUXRA’s technology and Rayzon’s operational expertise in PV panel manufacturing.

The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) is urging the European Union to adopt legislation against forced labor in the PV industry, by explicitly calling for measures to prevent solar products produced with forced labor from entering the European market.

ABB has secured a complete power, propulsion, and automation systems order for Samskip Group’s hydrogen-powered container vessels. Built by Cochin Shipyard Ltd, the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in India, these vessels are among the first in the world to demonstrate the potential of hydrogen fuel cells as a clean and renewable fuel source.

Adani Green Energy Ltd and French company TotalEnergies have agreed to create a new 50:50 joint venture (JV) with a 1,050 MW portfolio of solar and wind assets. TotalEnergies will make an equity investment of $300 million in the JV.

Surrey-based Gas Recovery and Recycle Ltd (GR2L) will supply its ArgonØ machinery that can recycle up to 95% of argon used in the fabrication of silicon wafers for solar panels.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in the 2023 State of the Union Address this week that European solar manufacturers face stiff competition from heavily subsidized Chinese rivals and noted that the bloc is launching an anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles from the country.