Materials
Old Microwave Synthesises CZTS Nanocrystals in Minutes
22 May 2013POSTED IN Research
Researchers at The University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah (US) have used a discarded microwave oven to produce CZTS nanocrystals from cheap, abundant and less toxic metals than other photovoltaic semiconductors. Now they want to optimise this potentially fast, large-scale production method for commercialisation.
Fluorescent Organic Dye Boosts Light Absorption, Recycles Electrons in Solar Cells
16 May 2013POSTED IN Research
Adding fluorescent organic squaraine dye into polymer solar cells considerably boosts light absorption and recycles electrons, scientists at Yale University have discovered. Consequentially, power conversion efficiency (PCE) increased by 38% in the experiments.
Coloured Glass for Solar Panels
15 May 2013POSTED IN Applications News
SwissINSO Holding Inc. a company that specialises in the development and application of new solar technologies and products launched coloured glass Kromatix. designed and developed in collaboration with EPFL (Swiss Polytec Institute), to improve the aesthetics and overall effectiveness of integrated solar energy solutions.
SNEC 2013: JA Solar and DuPont Collaborate on Cypress Panel Design
15 May 2013POSTED IN Applications News
DuPont Microcircuit Materials and JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd., recently collaborated to achieve a reported 19.4% solar cell efficiency.
Nanostructure-Coated Black Silicon Solar Cells Via ALD
09 May 2013POSTED IN Research
Aspiring to improve photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency by using latest advances in nanotechnology, researchers at Aalto University, Finland, are combining “black silicon” with the method of atomic layer deposition (ALD). As a result, the nanostructures fabricated by plasma dry etching minimise sunlight reflection. Moreover, a conformal, thin passivating layer, deposited onto the nanostructures through ALD, prevents charge carriers from recombining at the surface.
“Best Yet” Battery Design to Stabilise Solar Power for Grid
05 May 2013POSTED IN Research
Researchers from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University developed a simplified, highly scalable new battery design with significantly higher energy density that could stabilise the power output of alternative forms of energy, such as solar. As potential solution to notorious power fluctuation issues, the low-cost, long-life flow battery could thus enable solar energy to become a major supplier to the electrical grid.
IBM Develops Economical Sunflower CPV System
29 April 2013POSTED IN Research
IBM’s solar concentrator system — called an economical High Concentration PhotoVoltaic Thermal (HCPVT) system — could revolutionise solar energy. Mounted on innovative concrete solar trackers, the sunflower-inspired parabolic dish uses a multitude of mirror facets to concentrate sunlight onto several microchannel-liquid cooled receivers with photovoltaic converter chips. Scientists are hoping to develop an affordable photovoltaic system that can collect and convert 75–80% of the incoming solar radiation into energy.
SNEC 2013: Adhesive for back-contact solar modules from EMS
26 April 2013POSTED IN New Products
Engineered Material Systems will debut its new DB-1588-2 Conductive Adhesive for back contact applications in crystalline silicon solar modules in booth #W3-688 at the 2013 SNEC 7th International Photovoltaic Power Generation Conference & Exhibition, 14 to 16 May, 2013 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center in China.
PV Cycle and Retela Partner on PV Recycling in Czech Republic
25 April 2013POSTED IN Business News
PV Cycle and the Czech WEEE-scheme Retela announced that they have started to collaborate in the area of PV module take-back and recycling in the Czech Republic.
Pentacene Coating Could Push Solar Cell Efficiency Beyond Shockley-Queisser Limit
25 April 2013POSTED IN Research
Thanks to a new coating developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), solar cells could produce two electrons for every particle of light harvested at the green and blue wavelengths. The research advance could be the key to solar cell efficiencies beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit, which proposes that the ultimate conversion efficiency can never exceed 34% for a single optimised semiconductor junction.
Daytime Cooling Technology Sends Heat Into Outer Space
15 April 2013POSTED IN Research
A new type of passive solar structure designed by researchers at Stanford University in California (US) combines a thermal emitter and a solar reflector into one device that could cool buildings even in full sunshine. The daylight cooling technology, also applicable to car roofs and other structures, sends heat back into outer space and could hold promises for solutions to offset global warming.
IDS Solar Develops Battery Management and Charge Controller System
10 April 2013POSTED IN Applications News
IDS Solar Technologies, Inc. announced the completion of the company's first Battery Management and Charge Controller System (BMCCS) specifically designed for use with Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP).
Sol Voltaics' Nano Process May Boost Solar Efficiency 25%
10 April 2013POSTED IN Applications News
Sol Voltaics unveiled SolInk, an economical nanomaterial that promises to increase the efficiency of crystalline silicon or thin film solar modules by up to 25% or more, leading to solar power plants and rooftop solar arrays that will generate far more electricity than today's best commercially available systems.
Bottom-Up Growth Key to 4.9% Efficient QD Solar Cells
09 April 2013POSTED IN Research
New research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts (US), shows that bottom-up-grown one-dimensional nanostructures can significantly improve the performance of colloidal quantum dot (QD) solar cells. In fact, the MIT team demonstrated a solar power conversion efficiency of 4.9%, which is among the highest reported for zinc-oxide-based quantum dot photovoltaics (QDPV).
Materials Matter in Reducing Risk in Solar Installations
07 April 2013POSTED IN Applications Features
Solar continues to make significant inroads as a key element of the world’s overall energy mix; the expected annual growth rate is 20% over the next several years.
Maintaining this rate of growth depends on solar being an attractive investment for owners and investors. System reliability and viability can greatly impact investment returns, and therefore become key in reducing risk.
University of Michigan Develops Paint-On Plastic Electronics
01 April 2013POSTED IN Research
University of Michigan engineers have developed a new method for getting semiconductor polymers in line that could pave the way for cheaper, greener, "paint-on" plastic electronics.
US PV Consortium and NREL Team to Develop Thin-Film PV
15 March 2013POSTED IN Applications News
The US Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium (PVMC), an industry-led collaboration headquartered in New York at the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), has partnered with the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to improve manufacturing processes for thin-film CIGS photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, including products, metrology and reliability that will support the US solar industry in the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of next-generation solar PV systems.
Neutron Scattering Technique May Increase Thin-Film Solar Efficiency
11 March 2013POSTED IN Research
Engineers and scientists from the University of Sheffield, UK, have pioneered a new technique — called SERGIS — to measure the structure of PCBM crystallites (a fullerene derivative of the C60 buckyball) in thin-film solar cell materials, which will ultimately help to make the cells more efficient.
Yale’s Carbon Nanotube Thin Film Could Advance Si Solar Cells
04 March 2013POSTED IN Research
A carbon nanotube (CNT) thin film developed by researchers at the Yale University could prove a novel and cost-effective way to realise superior photovoltaic properties of crystalline solar cells. The hybrid carbon nanotube/silicon solar cells may have unmatched power conversion efficiency.
EU Trade Investigation into Solar Glass from China
01 March 2013POSTED IN Politics and Policy News
The European Commission launched an investigation on Thursday into claims that Chinese solar glass producers are dumping their products in the EU at rates below market value, according to a news report by Philip Blenkinsop for Reuters.
