Solidion seeks to provide sodium-based electrolytes as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries
The company says the technology’s better cycle times and potential lower costs would benefit grid storage and EV sectors.
Longi announces 27.30% efficiency for heterojunction back contact solar cell
The Chinese module manufacturer said the new efficiency record was confirmed by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research (ISFH).
Novel PV-driven desalination tech achieves lower levelized cost of water
Scientists led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have designed a new PV-powered desalination system based on the time-variant electrodialysis reversal (EDR) technology. The proposed system reportedly achieves lower levelized cost of water than conventional solar-powered desalination techs.
South Korea plans 120 GW space solar project
Two Korean research institutes are designing the 2.2 km × 2.7 km Korean Space Solar Power Satellite project with the aim of providing approximately 1 TWh of electricity to the Earth per year. The proposed system should use 4,000 sub-solar arrays of 10 m × 270 m, made out of thin film roll-out, with a system power efficiency of 13.5%.
Improving solar panel recyclability with lasers
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory developed a proof of concept for a method to remove polymers from solar panel manufacturing to enable more efficient recycling.
Born in the USA: First silicon solar cell celebrates 70th birthday
On April 25, 1954, U.S. researchers presented the first prototype of a usable solar module. The efficiency at that time was around 6%. A lot has happened since then.
NREL updates interactive chart of solar cell efficiency
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has updated its research cell efficiency chart for a range of PV technologies.
Making the case for concentrated solar power
Dismissed by many in the solar industry as an overly complex, outdated technology, concentrated solar power (CSP) is set for a comeback thanks to a scaled-down, modular approach.
New quantum solar cell material promises external quantum efficiency of 190%
The new material consists of an heterostructure combining germanium, selenium, and tin sulfide, which also integrates atoms of zerovalent copper. It features an average photovoltaic absorption over 80% and could help photovoltaic cells break the Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit, according to its creators.
Triple-junction solar cells have technical potential to reach 44.3% efficiency
A research team has investigated the optical properties of perovskite/perovskite/silicon triple-junction cells and has found these devices may have a practical efficiency potential of 44.3% assuming idealized electrical parameters. These cells may also potentially achieve a fill factor of 90.1%.
