A Swedish research group has developed a device combining CIGS thin-film solar modules and an alkaline electrolyser based on a trimetallic cathodic catalyst made of nickel, molybdenum, and vanadium (NiMoV) and an anode made of nickel oxide (NiO). The electrolyser achieved an average solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency of 8.5% for stable operations during 100 hours.

The Korean manufacturer and the German research centre were able to improve the performance of their jointly developed tandem solar cell by almost one percentage point.

Researchers in Saudi Arabia have fabricated an integrated fully PV-powered system to extract fresh water from the atmosphere. The system uses excess heat from the solar modules to evaporate and condense water that can then be used to grow crops. Part of the water is also used to cool down the solar modules through an active cooling technique.

Scientists in Australia have developed an optimisation framework for building-integrated photovoltaics that allows the selection of design variables according to user preferences. Their model considers PV-related features such as tilt angle, window-to-wall ratio (WWR), PV placement, and PV product type, as well as objective functions and constraints such as the net present value and the payback period.

Two industry experts have provided analyses of the current polysilicon price scenario in a chat with pv magazine and both agreed that polysilicon demand is still growing faster than supply. The price may decrease starting from the second quarter and reach more reasonable levels by the end of the year.

British start-up Gravitricity secured funds from the UK Department of Business Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to build its second gravity-based storage project. The feasibility study is expected to be finalised by the end of this year.

The 40MW/60MWh Alaminos Energy Storage system is now connected to the 120MW Alaminos solar park. Both facilities were built by renewable energy developer AC Energy.

Conceived by scientists in China, the battery was built with a special hydrogel electrolyte made of polyacrylamide (PAM), zinc sulfate (ZnSO4), glycerol (GL), and acetonitrile (AN). The device showed high cycling stability of over 3,000 cycles, a high reversibility thanks to a Coulombic efficiency of up to 99.5%, and electrochemical performance of 185 mAh·g over 10,000 cycles.

Chinese manufacturer Bslbatt has unveiled a modular lithium-ion battery that can be used for the off-grid storage of solar energy. The device has a storage capacity ranging from 5.1 to 30.7 kWh and is claimed to provide steady operation for up to 6,000 charge cycles.

Conceived for the storage of residential and large scale renewable energy, the device has a rated power of over 150mW/cm2, an energy density exceeding 40Wh/L, and a power density of 72.5mW/cm2. The battery was built with an anode made of inexpensive viologen and its cost, according to its creators, may be lower than US$100/kWh (AU$140).