Emiliano Bellini
All solar cell efficiencies at a glance – updated
The research group led by Professor Martin Green has published Version 65 of the solar cell efficiency tables. There are 17 new results reported in the new version.
Looming Trump tariffs drive rush on imports, push shipping costs higher
Freight costs are rising as businesses rush to import goods ahead of higher tariffs promised by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Chinese and European products.
‘There is no such thing as a global patent’
Jeffrey Saltman, partner at U.S. intellectual property law firm Fisch Sigler LLP, recently spoke to pv magazine about the rising number of patent lawsuits between PV module manufacturers. He said this increase in litigation mainly stems from the industry’s convergence on tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) tech and noted that the number of lawsuits is likely to rise in the near future.
JinkoSolar, Trina say TOPCon modules outperform p-type back-contact panels
JinkoSolar and Trina Solar have separately reported that on-field testing shows tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar modules outperform p-type back-contact PV modules in monthly power generation.
General Motors launches residential storage system
The US-based automotive manufacturing company said its new storage system offers the option of integrating with PV systems. It can be scaled to reach a capacity of up to 35.4 kWh, which the company said would enable approximately 20 hours of storage.
Runergy urges U.S. authorities to revoke two of Trina Solar’s TOPCon patents
Runergy is pushing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to cancel Trina Solar’s tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) patents, US9,722,104 and US10,230,009.
MIT scientists build PV-driven desalination system that reacts to changes in sunlight
The proposed brackish water desalination system uses photovoltaic electrodialysis to enable direct-drive desalination at high production rates. It already operated for 6 months on real brackish groundwater and was reportedly able to use 94% of the extracted PV energy.
New research shows vulnerability of TOPCon solar cells to contact corrosion
Researchers at the University of New South Wales claim to have identified new TOPCon contact degradation mechanisms that are significantly influenced by the combination of ions and aluminum-silver paste compositions. The primary degradation mechanism was a significant increase in series resistance.
Copeland debuts industrial heat pump
The U.S. heating specialist said its Vilter VQ95 heat pump is an ideal solution for district heating and industrial processes. It has a heating capacity of 1 MW to 5 MW per skid and can reportedly provide a temperature of up to 95 C.
Silver price on the rise
The price of silver has increased over 30% since the beginning of the year, with a particularly strong increase being registered in the last few months.
