Video: ISC Konstanz director predicts 50% global market share for IBC solar panels by 2030
Radovan Kopecek, the co-founder and director of Germany’s ISC Konstanz, says interdigitated back contact (IBC) tech could account for half of the global market for solar modules by 2030. He says IBC will start to dominate once TopCON and HJT get stuck at certain efficiency limits, and he believes TOPCon will be the first victim.
Trina Solar starts producing 210 mm n-type TOPCon solar cells
Trina Solar says its industrial tunnel-oxide passivated contact (i-TOPCon) solar cells, based on 210 mm wafers, have started rolling off the production line at its 8 GW factory in China. It will use the n-type cells to produce its new Vertex N modules, with power outputs ranging up to 605 W, and an efficiency rating of 22.4%.
Huasun unveils 715 W heterojunction solar module
Chinese manufacturer Huasun launched a new line of five heterojunction (HJT) solar modules in 2022, with power outputs ranging from 680 W to 700 W. The company has now added a new 715 W module to the series.
Longi claims world’s highest efficiency for p-type, indium-free HJT solar cells
Longi said it has achieved a 26.56% efficiency rating for a gallium-doped, p-type heterojunction solar cell and a 26.09% efficiency rating for an indium-free HJT cell, both based on M6 wafers. Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hamelin has confirmed the results.
Aussie startup develops 3D electronics printer with potential to reshape solar and storage
Canberra-based startup Syenta has developed a 3D printer capable of printing highly complex and functional electronics like photovoltaics, batteries, sensors and more, promising to do so in ways that are faster, cheaper and using less energy. The technology, which saw an the Australian startup reach the global grand-finals of the global ClimateLaunchpad program, has the potential to reshape both how renewable technologies are manufactured, and their actual performance, the team tells pv magazine Australia.
Hydrogen dominates Australia’s energy value future as earnings from critical minerals surge, resources report finds
Investment and forecast revenue from Australian resources critical to low-emissions energy technologies has grown dramatically in 2022, federal government reports find. The forecast export earnings from critical minerals has grown 50% in the year, while hydrogen projects now make up the nation’s largest single component by value, though in a highly speculative form.
Lowering grid costs with voltage support from PV inverters at night
US researchers have proposed the use of solar inverters in utility-scale solar assets to replace expensive voltage compensators, in order to provide voltage support at night. They said reactive power from PV inverters could be significantly cheaper and suggested the introduction of incentives to convince PV plant owners.
Contract for FFI’s Gladstone electrolyser substation announced
Australian company GenusPlus Group has been awarded a $15 million (USD 9.9 million) contract with Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) to design and construct a 275 kV substation at FFI’s Green Energy Manufacturing Centre in Gladstone, Queensland.
Adani moves forward with 30,000 MT polysilicon project in India
Adani has selected Engineers India Ltd. (EIL) to set up 30,000 metric tons (MT) of polysilicon production capacity and 500 MT of monosilane capacity in India.
Canadian Solar enters TOPCon solar module business
Chinese-Canadian PV manufacturing heavyweight Canadian Solar said it will begin mass production of 690 W TOPCon products in the first quarter of 2023. The modules will feature a cell efficiency of 25.0% and a bifaciality factor of more than 85%.
