National recycling pilot to address solar panel waste issues
The Australian government will pump almost $25 million into a national solar panel recycling program in a bid to reduce landfill and recover valuable metals and minerals that can support the renewable energy transition.
Study shows some POE encapsulants pose threat to TOPCon solar modules
University of New South Wales researchers found that some POE encapsulants can trigger severe corrosion in TOPCon solar modules, causing up to 55% power loss under damp-heat conditions. Their study highlights that module reliability depends on the exact encapsulant formulation, not just the polymer type.
JinkoSolar pushes on perovskite-silicon tandem solar with new partnership
JinkoSolar has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with XtalPi, an “AI for Science” platform company, to pursue high-throughput R&D on perovskite-crystalline-silicon tandem solar cells using an AI platform and quantum-physics-based models.
Localised polysilicon thinning improves TOPCon solar cell performance
UNSW researchers boosted TOPCon solar cell efficiency by locally thinning the rear poly-Si layer, reducing parasitic absorption while preserving wafer integrity. The champion cell built with this approach achieved 25.10% efficiency with improved bifaciality and maintained strong passivation.
UNSW research offers guidance for more robust TOPCon solar cells
UNSW researchers developed an experimentally validated model linking UV-induced degradation in TOPCon solar cells to hydrogen transport, charge trapping, and permanent structural changes in the passivation stack. They show that thicker aluminum oxide layers significantly improve UV resilience by limiting hydrogen migration, offering clear guidance for more robust TOPCon designs.
New process achieves 97% silver recovery from end-of-life solar panels
University of Newcastle researchers have developed a new separation technique that employs the same crushing and flotation principles used in mineral processing to recover more than 97% of silver from end-of-life solar panels.
Trina Solar posts new milestones for tandem efficiency, module power
Trina Solar says new certified results in perovskite-crystalline silicon tandem cells and modules demonstrate progress toward industrial-scale next-generation PV.
All solar cell efficiencies at a glance – delayed
The research group led by Professor Martin Green has not published yet Version 67 of the solar cell efficiency tables, due to production delays. Green, however, has agreed to comment on some of the results to be added in the upcoming edition.
Facilitating DER/CER in Australia’s two-way energy system: report
The Australian Energy Regulator has released its third annual export services network performance report on facilitating consumer energy resources in Australia’s two-way energy system.
California winery runs all operations on floating and rooftop solar
A family-owned California winery has replaced grid electricity with onsite solar generation, reducing power costs and providing a live test site for floating photovoltaic research.
