World

An international research group has created a closed-loop, transparent energy platform based on PV power generation and hydrogen production from photo-electrochemical cells. The system is claimed to supply power without interruption and to be transparent enough to be integrated into buildings.

PV cell and module manufacturers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to monitor production lines and the products coming off them in minute detail. As inline monitoring and testing equipment become more sophisticated, cell and module makers must be prepared to manage the enormous amounts of data and pull out the points that will save them time and money. pv magazine examines the software solutions backing state-of-the-art PV production.

With a new start-up and a consortium in the Netherlands, German automotive supplier Schaeffler wants to significantly reduce the costs of green hydrogen.

Bluetti’s NA300 sodium-ion solar generator offers thermal stability, fast-charging capacity, low-temperature performance, and integration efficiency.

Researchers at Stanford University and the US Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have explored the potential recovery of lost capacity in lithium batteries by using an extremely fast discharging step to reconnect an island of inactive lithium with the anode. Adding this extra step slowed the degradation of their test battery and increased its lifespan by nearly 30%.

Renewable energy and battery storage has racked up another banner year in 2021, according to end-of-year analysis from Rystad Energy. While there was growth across segments, residential solar has seen the most impressive gains, surpassing the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment for the year.

Huaneng Power International has switched on a 320 MW floating PV array in China’s Shandong province. It deployed the plant in two phases on a reservoir near its 2.65 GW Dezhou thermal power station.

The title of Martin Schachinger’s October market commentary was “Module prices set to rocket back to 2019 levels.” This month, he writes that prices have already reached December 2018 levels and notes that there is no reversal in sight. Prices for all module technologies have once again risen by an average of 3 percentage points since last month.

Scientists at the Nankai University in China have provided a comprehensive overview of current research on silicon heterojunction-based tandem solar cells (SHJ-TSCs) and shared their expectations of future developments in this field.

The 52 kW containerized solution is being developed by German start-up Solarbakery. The bakery’s production process was adapted in such a way that the majority of electricity consumption is already incurred during the day and is only baked briefly in the dark before dawn.