Technology and R&D

The modern PV industry has lost one its pioneering researchers. The University of New South Wales’ Stuart Wenham died on Saturday December 23, after having being diagnosed with a malignant melanoma in September. He was 61 years old.

The Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) announced a new efficiency milestone, achieving 21.5% average cell efficiency for its fully screen printed bifacial silicon technology. According to SERIS, the milestone was achieved at pilot-scale production using commercially available wafers

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced that it will award multiple Australian universities and research institutes with a total of $29.2 million to support early-stage research into new solar innovations.

Under the Cooperative Research Center Program 4th Selection Round, the Australian Federal Government will extend a grant for a smart home energy management system. Other awarded green projects involve an energy storage technology alternative for lithium-ion batteries and innovative generation of low cost, zero-emission, reliable electricity.

A funding agreement has been signed between Australian solar cell producer Greatcell and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, which pledged to allocate $6 million to underpin commercial development of perovskite solar cells.

A paper published by consultancy DNV GL forecasts major growth in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) applications within renewable energy, and outlines the risks and opportunities of such technologies.

European research group Solliance has announced new conversion efficiencies of 13.5% (cell) and 12.2% (module) for its perovskite based PV technology. The group states that the records were achieved in a factory setting, using an industrially scalable roll to roll process.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have created a solar cell using colloidal quantum dots, which achieved 13.4% conversion efficiency – a new world record for this emerging technology.

Dr. Brett Hallam of the University of New South Wales’ (UNSW) School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy engineering has been awarded a prestigious State Premier’s Prize for Science and Engineering.

Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE CalLab has confirmed that China’s Longi Green Energy Technology has achieved a record 22.71% conversion efficiency with its monocrystalline passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) solar cells.