China

Researchers from Hong Kong have applied a novel charge-reinforced, ion-selective (CRIS) membrane to a polysulfide-iodide redox flow battery they had built in 2016. The redox flow battery showed a capacity decay rate of just 0.005% per day for 1,200 cycles, and a lifetime with over 2,000 hours’ cycling, which the academics said corresponds to approximately three months.

The Biden Administration’s decision to ban solar imports from four Xinjiang-based polysilicon manufacturers, Hoshine Silicon, Daqo, East Hope, and GCL New Energy Material, has already raised concerns. One analyst warns of a “significant negative impact” across the U.S. solar industry.

Researchers in China have built a PV-powered air conditioner that can store power through ice thermal storage. The performance of the system was evaluated considering operating efficiency and stability and the scientists found that a device relying on a variable-speed compressor and an MPPT controller showed very good ice-making capability.

The two solar manufacturers will get priority access to polysilicon produced at the planned fab in Inner Mongolia, which developer Xinte Energy has said will be fully operational by June 2023.

In a white paper, the three Chinese module manufacturers have reiterated the well-known refrain “bigger is not always better.” Experts from the three companies compared the BoS costs of 182mm-wafer-based modules and 210mm products, and found that the former have a slight advantage in racking, foundation, and land costs.

Such a decision, which industry body the CPIA is adamant has already been announced, could make all the difference to investors struggling with a surge in equipment costs fuelled by the polysilicon shortage. The all-important National Energy Administration, however, has yet to confirm whether the CPIA’s interpretation is correct.

Since July 2020, the PV industry has been experiencing price rises, which have affected almost all the components in a solar system. As these price increases spill out into higher installation costs, we see end user prices for solar rising for the first time in 10 years, threatening the competitiveness of PV in certain markets. Vincent Shaw reports from Shanghai on solar manufacturing’s supply chain crisis.

With the solar industry already seeing prices rise because of a shortage of panel raw material polysilicon, an explosion yesterday at the factory of a silicon metal producer in Xinjiang could have further repercussions on supply. No casualties have been reported.

The new product has an efficiency of 98.8% and a European efficiency of up to 98.5%. It features 10 independent maximum power point tracking (MPPT) inputs, with MPPT voltage ranging from 180-1000 V.

Private sector fossil fuel spending on exploration is drying up just as modest rises in clean energy investments are being observed. With stock market investors increasingly embracing renewables, the IEA has observed positive signals in its latest energy investment report, but warned we are still doing far too little to keep global heating at bay.