Coming around
Given the number of batteries (primarily lithium-ion) that are required to decarbonize the power and mobility sectors, the industry is now preparing for a mountain of battery waste. Recycling is technically feasible, but is also subject to sensitive economics. The framework in which recycling companies can achieve the best life-cycle costs for batteries needs to be carefully enabled through policy – and it will likely include a mixture of technologies and business models, in order to allow life-cycle emissions of batteries to be brought down.
Poland’s wind of change
It may have one of the oldest energy mixes in Europe right now, but Poland nonetheless has ambitions to address this by bringing more renewables online. Łukasz Zaziąbł, regional sales manager for global energy developer BayWa r.e., talks about the Polish market and the opportunity for cleaner energy.
In the long run…
PV module makers are under growing pressure to increase the power output and longevity of their products, which leads in some cases to rapid changes in the technologies and materials they utilize. pv magazine recently sat down to speak with Kaushik Roy Choudhury and Mark Ma of DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions about the changing landscape for quality in solar PV materials.
Final thought
Gurmeet Kaur, Partner, Pinsent Masons LLP
pv magazine events 2020
Roundtables Mexico @ Solar Power Mexico 2020 Storage and bifacial technologies for Mexico’s next step into the energy transition March 25, 2020 Our inaugural Roundtables Mexico 2020 event will provide a new point of view on the Mexican PV market by stressing the importance of technological improvement in aiding project viability. And the Mexican solar […]
Stored potential
Demand for batteries is going nowhere but up, as new factories seem to appear almost every week with promises to power electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and grid-connected storage. But the lithium-ion technology that all of these rely on is not without drawbacks, and a whole host of new storage solutions is eager to get out of the laboratory.
pv magazine test
January and February 2020 results
Lockdown changes power consumption
We live in an era of unprecedented social, cultural and economic change. But energy consumers are increasingly optimizing their electricity usage by using renewables and relying on smart solutions, writes Abhishek Sampat, principal analyst for Delta EE.
More wires for larger cells
Somewhat less publicized than the recent move to larger wafer formats from China’s cell suppliers has been accompanying growth in multi-busbar cell interconnection strategies, which typically forego flat ribbons in favor of round wires to carry a charge generated in a cell out into the system. This brings benefits in module performance and can also reduce silver content in the cells. Equipment suppliers in Europe, however, see several problems in the processing of round wires that could risk performance and quality issues, and will need to be ironed out for the technology to gain further ground.
2020 Awards: Finalists announced
The first finalists in the 2020 Inverters award category
