The duties range from 53.3% to 57% for U.S. producers and from 2.4% to 48.7% for South Korean companies and will remain in force for a further five years.

Solar manufacturers are facing rising cost pressure as silver paste now accounts for up to 30% of total cell production costs. OPIS analyst Hanwei Wu tells pv magazine that module producers currently have limited ability to raise panel final prices, which is accelerating efforts to reduce silver use across all mainstream cell technologies.

A new Perspectives research study on the future of the global PV supply chain outlines how module prices, performance, and lifetimes could evolve over the next 25 years. The work reflects a collaboration among leading solar research institutions worldwide. One of the study’s authors, the director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), told pv magazine that solar module and cell efficiencies could exceed 35% by 2050, with panel prices expected to drop by a factor of two.

U.S. startup Quilt has introduced a new three-zone ductless heat pump for residential use, offering independent temperature control across three areas with a single outdoor unit. The system uses R32 (difluoromethane) as the refrigerant and can reportedly achieved a coefficient of performance of 4.2 at 8 C.

A US research team has developed all-solid-state sodium batteries that retain performance down to subzero temperatures. The systems utilize a special chloride-based solid-electrolyte-coated cathode.

Apparent Inc. has unveiled a new water heater that can reportedly offset 100% of a home’s water heating cost. The system uses low-voltage DC electricity generated by conventional solar panels and a cloud based, machine learning platform that manages energy in real-time.

The solar cells combine multilayer graphene with silicon wafers, harvesting both solar and kinetic energy for continuous operation. Tests show the cells can autonomously power supercapacitors embedded in a temperature sensor.

pv magazine spoke with energy and environmental law expert Anatole Boute about the past and future role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in regulating trade disputes related to clean energy technologies amid current geopolitical tensions. He noted that despite recent protectionist efforts to revive the solar manufacturing industry, the European Union still strives to remain compliant with WTO rules.

Researchers in Canada have proposed using gravity-based energy storage in high-rise buildings, in combination with photovoltaic facades, small wind turbines, and lithium-ion batteries. Their modeling indicated that this hybrid system could achieve a levelized cost of energy ranging from $0.051/kWh to $0.111/kWh.

With silver prices nearing $50 per ounce, researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) tell pv magazine that efforts to reduce silver use in solar cells will not compromise module quality if properly engineered.