Europe

Spanish energy giants Repsol and Enagás are planning to build an electrolyser based on photoelectrocatalysis at an industrial complex owned by the oil company in Puertollano in 2024. The device receives direct solar radiation and with a photoactive material it generates the electrical charges that cause the separation of the water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen.

The performance of the solar cell contacts can be improved with laser-assisted current treatment. The process does not damage the solar cells but only optimises faulty semiconductor-metal contacts.

The panel is based on 14.9%-efficient organic PV cells with a surface of 1.1 cm2 that the same research group unveiled in September 2020. The solar cells were interconnected using laser structuring.

Photon Energy reported raised revenue from sales of electricity in the second quarter of the year, compared with 12 months earlier, but said grid hold-ups at 14.6 MW of solar projects Down Under had affected performance.

A German research team has developed a photovoltaic-electrochemical device for alkaline water electrolysis that can be linked to battery storage. The proposed system configuration can not only smoothen out the PV power fluctuations and facilitate power coupling, but also improve solar to hydrogen efficiency.

German scientists have applied a new combination of cathodes and electrolytes to improve the stability of lithium-metal batteries. They fabricated a device with an energy density of 560 watt-hours per kilogram and a Coulombic efficiency of 99.94%.

Mónica LiraCantú leads a research group investigating nanostructured materials for photovoltaic energy at the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2). Recently, her group led a project that looked deep into the crystalline structure of a perovskite solar cell, revealing new information about the formation of defects in the material and how they could be engineered to improve both efficiency and stability. pv magazine caught up with the Barcelona-based scientist to discuss the state of the art in perovskite solar cells and remaining challenges on the road to commercialisation.

With manufacturing ramping up year by year and policies already looking to get ahead of the large volumes of end-of-life products, the landscape for lithium-ion battery recycling is rapidly changing. pv magazine recently spoke with Mari Lundström, associate professor of chemical and metallurgical engineering at Aalto University, to find out what is needed on the research side for the effective recycling of batteries.

German researchers developed a lattice arrangement of three different layers of ferroelectric crystals that created a powerful photovoltaic effect.

Producing nutrient-rich microbes with solar PV has the potential to produce more food with fewer resources, according to a German research group that modelled the large-scale production of microbial biomass by combining ground-mounted photovoltaics, air, water, and nutrients.