Solar Technology & PV R&D News

When you consider photovoltaic panels, the instant photo that enters your mind is the typical blue-black panel that covers many a rooftop. In fact, many locate it odd, probably even paradoxical, that a things implied to harness power from the brilliant sunlight, comes with such a dark shape. This is by design, as the nearly-opaque panels are able to trap the optimum amount of sunshine, as well as hence generate solar energy with a higher price of performance (balancing 15%).

A German study group is attempting to determine whether the mix of solar as well as storage with straight combining as well as without the help of optimal power point tracking (MPPT) electronics is possible. According to its findings, this particular configuration may be reliable, yet it will likely require special panels and batteries.

Researchers in the Netherlands are trialing a floating solar installation based on flexible thin-film PV components. The suggestion behind their principle is that such modules, in combination with a recently made flexible racking system, will certainly produce a system able to roll with the activity of the water, rather than attempting to oppose it.

The storage modern technology assures ten times the energy density supplied by lithium-ion batteries however notorious biking instability stays a problem. Researchers in South Korea might have come an action nearer a service.

Scientists in the Netherlands have actually asserted that a heterojunction steel wrap-through solar module they are designing could offer a 4% performance enhancement over traditional heterojunction panels.

An international research study group has actually created a self-cooling PV system including a 250 W 60-cell polycrystalline component and a thermal enthusiast attached to the back side of the panel. The cleaning technology is based upon a microcontroller programmable integrated circuit, which manages a rotating DC electric motor.

Researchers in the U.S. have established a brand-new cathode chemistry for lithium-sulfur batteries, which they say pledges to conquer performance problems originating from sulfur's reduced conductivity and also tendency to react with lithium.

The road to low-cost hydrogen production is riddled with gaps and power losses. Scientists in Australia have demonstrated reconsidering solar innovation as well as missing electrolysers could hold great pledge for reaching the hydrogen holy grail.

Researchers in Morocco have actually made a brand-new bifacial module with a cooling system, based upon bifacial parabolic solar cells that are attached to each various other through tubes for panel cooling. They are currently patenting the tech, however have yet to produce a first prototype.

Scientists at Switzerland's École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have established an anode from graphene doped with sodium, which they state could possibly overcome a few of the essential concerns in raising storage ability and the life time of sodium-ion batteries.

A team of Brown University researchers has actually discovered a method to double the durability of a ceramic product used to make solid-state lithium ion batteries. The approach, explained in the journal Matter, could be beneficial in bringing solid-state batteries to the mass market.

A straightforward as well as noninvasive treatment could become a prime post-crystallization process to enhance the optoelectronic residential properties of hybrid perovskite solar cell materials.

Electrification of the transport sector - among the largest customers of energy worldwide - is vital to future energy and also environmental durability. Electrification of this market will certainly require high-power fuel cells (either stand alone or combined with batteries) to promote the transition to electric cars, from automobiles and trucks to watercrafts and aircrafts.

The round 3D cells can apparently generate around 101% even more power than traditional level solar cells. Measurements have actually also shown that the spherical cells provide a 10% reduced optimum temperature compared to flat cells, while accumulating less dirt.

A group of scientists led by Nanchang University in China trialed a polymer based opening transportation layer to flexible perovskite solar cells, making use of a glue to connect it to the active perovskite. The group had the ability to construct the 19.87%- reliable cells right into a little flexible component appropriate for wearable solar applications, and claims its style was influenced by the structure as well as activities of human vertebrae.