Solar Technology & PV R&D News

IBM Research discovers new battery design that could outperform lithium-ion
IBM Research has discovered a new battery design that doesn’t use heavy metals and may outperform lithium-ion batteries. To expand the promise of these batteries from the lab into reality, IBM Research has signed joint development agreements with Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America, battery electrolyte supplier Central Glass, and battery manufacturer Sidus.
Dec 18, 2019 // Technology, Storage, lithium-ion, IBM Research
Oxbridge scientists seek to explain electron dynamics in perovskite cells
Researchers from the two prestigious U.K. universities are analyzing spatiotemporal charge-carrier dynamics in the perovskite materials used for solar applications. They have discovered the carriers propagate ballistically over 150nm within 20fs of photon absorption.
Dec 18, 2019 // Technology, UK, Oxford University, solar cells, Europe, perovskite
A solar-powered irrigation pump with pay-as-you-go option
Comet-ME has developed a solar-powered submersible borehole piston pump for off-grid communities and smallholders to use for irrigation and domestic purposes. The device, compatible with PV systems from 300-900 W in size, can pump water from 45m with as little as 50 W of continuous solar power.
Dec 18, 2019 // Technology, Commercial, Comet-ME, pump, Palestine, SMPP, Noam Dotam
Engineer discovers mighty power in small solar energy invention
Today's commonly used silicon solar cells are heavy and bulky, and take up a lot of space to produce power. Newer models, made from soft materials that are flexible and versatile, are cheaper to produce but also much less efficient than their pricier counterparts.
Dec 17, 2019 // Technology, Storage, USA, solar cells, North America, flexible, Susanna Thon, Johns Hopkins
Charging an electric vehicle in 10 minutes
Scientists from Penn State University have developed a self-heating battery for electric vehicles which is said charge in only 10 minutes at 60 degrees Celsius.
Dec 17, 2019 // Technology, Storage, Transport, USA, North America, electric vehicle, penn state university, Chao-Yang Wang
Reducing total harmonic distortion with adaptive filters
A Malaysian study has compared the techniques used to reduce total harmonic distortion caused by PV systems. The paper, which considers the benefits and drawbacks of the approaches studied, suggests the use of adaptive filters.
Dec 16, 2019 // Technology, Inverters, Malaysia, Asia, PV module, THD
New solar cell invention could lead to cheap solar power
North Carolina researchers have developed a brand new perovskite solar cell method.
Dec 13, 2019 // Technology, USA, North Carolina, solar cell, perovskite, North America, Jinsong Huang
Next-generation light-weight, flexible and long-lasting batts
A group of Korean researchers, headed by Prof Soojin Park, has created foldable batts with thin 3D organic electrodes.
Dec 13, 2019 // Technology, Storage, Asia, Korea, flexible, Soojin Park
LBIC: Seeing solar potential
Digital imagery with laser lighting has been utilized to quantify a solar cell's performance for a while through a procedure called light beam induced current (LBIC) mapping. But, because of the serial nature of image processing, it has not been easy to do fast. Danish start-up InfinityPV states it has used a method which can expedite the LBIC rate by over 10 million times.
Dec 12, 2019 // Technology, Manufacturing News, Europe, solar panel, LBIC
Solar cells with holes pierced in them can be used as windows
UNIST researchers have discovered how to let light through photovoltaic panels. They have made dense micro-holes in a cell, which makes it seen as fully transparent and suitable for window application.
Dec 12, 2019 // Technology, PV panels, Asia, Korea, solar sells, UNIST
American scientists find way for efficiently conversion of photons by silicon
A scientific group from two U.S.-based universities has discovered how to transfer the energy between the molecules of silicon and organic material. So far, this phenomenon was only theoretical. The discovery has vast prospects for medical, solar power, and quantum computing applications.
Dec 12, 2019 // Technology, USA, silicon, North America, photons
Crystallographic defects can improve battery performance
A group of researchers from Rice University of Texas have found out that introducing antisite defects into lithium iron phosphate lattice makes the roads for lithium ion broader.
Dec 12, 2019 // Technology, Storage, USA, North America, Rice University of Texas
Investors learn about Tasmania’s green hydrogen potential
The Australian state of Tasmania has approached international investors to present its unique potential for the production of hydrogen from renewable sources, as it aims to position itself at the forefront of the nation’s green hydrogen push.
Dec 12, 2019 // Technology, Markets & Finance News, Policy, Solar to Fuel, Australia, hydrogen, Oceania, Steve Davy
Creating a more resource-efficient solar power industry
PSS, which focuses on selling service and performance instead of products, is usually seen as a means to realize a circular economy, in which economic activity is decoupled from resource consumption and waste is minimized.
Dec 12, 2019 // Technology, Europe, recycling, CIRCUSOL, PSS, PVMINDS
AI-driven robots are making new materials, improving solar cells and other technologies
Ada, an AI-driven robot, searches for new solar cell designs at the University of British Columbia.
Dec 12, 2019 // Technology, Manufacturing News, USA, Canada, UK, Europe, solar cell, North America, University of British Columbia, Curtis Berlinguette, Benji Maruyama, Apurva Mehta, Kristin Persson, Keith Brown, Joshua Schrier, John Gregoire