Western Europe

Also starting up: Dutch two-seat solar EV for ride sharing, and French company Supersola releases a plug-and-play solar module.

German scientists have applied a new combination of cathodes and electrolytes to improve the stability of lithium-metal batteries. They fabricated a device with an energy density of 560 watt-hours per kilogram and a Coulombic efficiency of 99.94%.

Developers say the design approach can prevent soil deterioration and still offer the same yield as south-oriented PV plants.

Also starting up: Space Force awards $50k to flesh out an idea for a solar-thermal spacecraft, and Lightyear finds a manufacturer for its solar EV.

Researchers discovered a ferroelectric crystal lattice that increases a solar cell’s photovoltaic effect by a factor of 1,000.

The Photovoltaics Report published by Fraunhofer ISE said that Europe had just 1.25 GW of solar wafer production capacity at the end of 2020.

Also starting up: Edgehog secures funding for its self-cleaning, anti-reflective glass; and Maana Electric looks to the Moon for its shipping container-sized PV module factories.

New tech which can store power for longer than four hours can secure funds toward demonstrator project costs.

A French PV specialist and a Dutch designer who integrates PV into furniture, windows, and other objects, teamed up to provide technology for a pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai.

Sax Power has developed a new residential battery which it describes as a game-changer in the battery technology.