Highlights

Salgenx has developed a way to produce graphene on demand from its saltwater flow battery. The tech exploits the electrochemical properties of the battery’s cathode to exfoliate graphite into individual layers of graphene. The company says it can produce graphene for less than $1.25 per gram, providing storage businesses with an additional revenue stream.

Low electrolyzer costs, low capex, a low levelized cost of energy, and a decent capacity factor are key to developing viable green hydrogen projects. George Touloupas, senior director of technology for Clean Energy Associates, tells pv magazine about the main challenges and the current price trajectory for green hydrogen tech.

TrendForce has ranked the top six module manufacturers by shipment volume in 2022, with Longi topping the list, followed by Trina Solar and JinkoSolar. JA Solar, Canadian Solar, and Risen Energy rounded out the top six, in a year dominated by large-format modules.

The European Solar Test Installation (ESTI) has confirmed the results of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology’s (KAUST) new perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell. KAUST researchers claim the tech is a step forward from other perovskite-silicon cells they have developed.

The French authorities selected 16 projects (58 MW) in the third round of rooftop PV tenders, at an average final price of €104 ($114.30)/MWh, up 15% from the September 2022 tender. The authorities selected seven ground-mounted projects, or 115 MW of capacity, at an average price of €82.2/MWh, up 20% from the last tender.

The Viperlab project is a European initiative that brings together organizations that are working on perovskite solar. pv magazine speaks with Eva Unger, Viperlab’s scientific coordinator, about the infrastructure needed to facilitate the transfer of information and technology to the industry, as well as the huge database that needs to be created to serve this purpose.

The China Academy of Metrology and Science has certified Jolywood’s 26.7% efficiency rating for an n-type tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cell, which the company claims is a world record. In November 2022, it announced a 26.1% efficiency rating for a similar cell.

The French government has announced the launch of a tender for 1.5 GW of ground-mounted PV and another tender for 800 MW of rooftop capacity, in order to compensate for the high failure rate of the third round of tenders for large-scale PV plants.

The government of Canada announced it is now accepting applications for its Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Program. Eligible low-to-middle-income Canadian households currently heating their homes with oil can apply for an upfront payment of up to CAD 10,000 ($7,413) toward purchasing and installing a new, electric, air-source cold climate heat pump.

Sarcos has designed a robotic PV construction solution that delivers, detects, lifts, and places PV modules in large-scale solar plants. It has recently field tested and validated the prototype solution in a pilot project funded by the US Department of Energy.