Western Europe

Scientists at European solar research organization, Solliance have announced the achievement of 14.5% conversion efficiency on a perovskite module. The module uses a glass substrate, and the efficiency was measured on an aperture area of 144 cm².

Together with Austrian equipment manufacturer EVG, Fraunhofer ISE has achieved an efficiency of 33.3% on a multi-junction solar cell. The highlight of the cell is the ultra-thin II-V semiconductor layer. However, it will be a few years before mass production is possible.

Although current efficiencies for solar cells based on kesterite do not exceed 12.6%, the use of germanium may enable the development of cells with a higher energy band gap.

pv magazine teams up with solar market analysts at IHS Markit to run through the top 10 crystalline silicon cell manufacturers of 2017, and the events that shaped their market landscape throughout the year.

Testing from TÜV Rheinland has revealed that PV inverters and battery storage systems are vulnerable to hacking. By changing system parameters, a hacker could potentially cause a battery system to corrode, “making it like a ‘bomb’.”

Roughly seven months after its new beginning, the German solar PV manufacturer has again filed for insolvency at the District Court of Bonn – the second time in one year. SolarWorld blames the planned phasing out of anti-dumping measures by the EU Commission against Chinese competition and the further drop in prices.

Lamination innovation: The ongoing ambition of laminator manufacturers is to develop machines that can deliver high output through a faster lamination process, while simultaneously reducing their footprint by combining several machines into one. However, an in-depth process know-how is essential in order to produce defect-free modules. Which players possess such knowledge?

Scientists led by Cambridge University have discovered that adding a simple solution of potassium to the ink solution has the effect of ‘healing’ defects in metal-halide perovskite films, and immobilizing ion movement. This, according to the researchers, could push the material to higher efficiencies, while also increasing its stability.

European solar research organization Solliance and the Energy Research Center of the Netherlands (ECN) have announced the achievement of 26.3% efficiency on a transparent perovskite solar cell combined with a crystalline silicon solar cell.

The ISA founding ceremony, held on Sunday March 11 in New Delhi, India, was a highlight in the 2018 solar calendar. French President, Emmanuel Macron announced €700 million in support through loans and donations by 2022, while several other financial deals and MoUs were also signed. Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi further outlined 10 action points to help the spread of solar energy.