Longi builds 27.25%-efficient back-contact solar cells with high-resistivity wafers
High-resistivity silicon wafers offer superior efficiency potential but are highly sensitive to edge recombination and mechanical damage, limiting their commercial use compared to more robust standard wafers. Researchers from Longi and Sun Yat-sen University demonstrated that integrating in-situ edge passivation unlocks this potential, significantly boosting back-contact solar cell fill factor and efficiency.
Fox ESS partners with Origin to expand its virtual power plant offerings
China-headquartered renewable energy technology provider Fox ESS has partnered with Origin Energy to enable its home battery storage systems to connect to the Origin Loop virtual power plant.
Chemitek offers solution for drone-based cleaning of agrivoltaics
The Portuguese company said its new Drone AgroPV Cleaning Agent is scheduled for release in June. It has a safe formulation for crops and soil.
Neara closes $90 million Series D funding round, reaches $1.1 billion valuation
Sydney-based critical infrastructure digital twin modelling company Neara has closed a $90 million Series D funding round to accelerate its focus on solving global infrastructure challenges.
KSTAR joins Smart Energy Council in lead up to home battery launch
Major Chinese inverter and energy storage solution company KSTAR has joined the Smart Energy Council as an essential member in the lead up to its launch of a new residential energy storage solution to the Australian market.
Norwegian firm introduces fire-resistant membrane for rooftop solar
Norwegian fire safety specialist Bridgehill has developed a fire-resistant roofing membrane designed for use beneath rooftop PV systems. The company says the product is intended to limit heat transfer and flame spread in commercial and industrial installations subject to strict fire safety and insurance requirements.
UNSW ‘living lab’ energy managment system now operational
Real-world testing of an artifical intelligence-enabled energy management system and virtual power plant technology is underway in Dubbo, through a TRaCE funded collaboration between the University of New South Wales, Sungrow and Dubbo Regional Council.
Over 85% silver extraction efficiency achieved in solar panel recycling test
South Australian clean energy technology recycling developer Iondrive has reported early laboratory results from its proprietary IONSolv metal extraction platform shown greater than 85% silver extraction efficiency in initial bench-scale testing.
50 MW First Nations solar farm lands first customer
The Western Australia government has partnered with traditional owners of Ngarluma Country in the Pilbara, and Perth based conglomerate Perdaman, to progress the Ngarluma Green Energy Park with the development of a proposed 50 MW solar farm.
Guided-learning model for PV power forecasting without irradiance sensors
South Korean researchers have developed a guided-learning framework that accurately predicts PV power without requiring irradiance sensors during operation, using routine meteorological data instead. The model reportedly showed strong out-of-sample performance while outperforming conventional irradiance-based approaches, particularly under noisy or inconsistent data conditions.
