News > Emerging/R&D

  • Flamac and imec team up for production of new materials for solar cells. Image: Flamac

    Flamac and imec partner for development of new materials for solar cells

    21 December 2011, 20:06

    Flamac, a unit of SIM vzw, advised that it will work with imec to develop new semiconductor materials for solar cell applications. The collaboration will see the companies produce materials that are alternates for the standard CIGS solar cells.

  • Research house, imec and industrial partners Polyera and Solvay developed the proprietary inverted bulk heterojunction architecture, which resulted in achieving much higher efficiencies that other organic thin film cells have to date.

    Imec and partners demonstrate inverted designed organic solar cell with 8.3% efficiency

    15 December 2011, 15:12

    A new world-record efficiency of 8.3% has been claimed for a polymer-based single junction organic solar cell in an inverted device stack. Research house, imec and industrial partners Polyera and Solvay developed the proprietary inverted bulk heterojunction architecture, which resulted in achieving much higher efficiencies that other organic thin film cells have to date. Work is ongoing to increase the cell size and lifetime, a key challenge for organic-based cells.

  • Sentech Instruments

    NanoMarkets details ‘alternative’ TCO materials and markets in new report

    28 September 2011, 10:49

    Research and analysis firm NanoMarkets has published a new report entitled “Emerging Markets for Non-ITO Transparent Conductive Oxides”, detailing the market opportunities for non-indium tin oxide (ITO) TCOs. The report’s findings suggest that the market for these materials will reach approximately US$925 million by 2016.

  • Dr. Roger Welser, CTO of Magnolia, will present the latest results in the company's technology endeavor.

    Magnolia Solar to present update on development of its high-efficiency, thin-film solar cell

    22 September 2011, 22:33

    Magnolia Solar will be updating the scientific community of its results towards the development of a high-efficiency, thin-film solar cell during the 22nd Space Photovoltaic Research and Technology (SPRAT) Conference in Cleveland, Ohio on September 22. Magnolia was working under the Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with Kopin Corporation and MicroLink Devices.
    Dr. Roger Welser, CTO of Magnolia will present the latest technical results in his “Thin-Film Quantum Well Waveguide Solar Cells,” presentation at the SPRAT conference.

  • Professor Ted Sargent, corresponding author on the work and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Nanotechnology at U of T.

    Team from U of T, KAUST and Penn State develop most efficient colloidal quantum dot solar cell yet

    19 September 2011, 21:53

    It’s being called the most efficient colloidal quantum dot (CQD) solar cell ever and a team of international researchers is being praised for the new development. Researchers from the University of Toronto (U of T), King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) and Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) have created the new CQD solar cell based off the need for a design that compacts quantum dots together so that less distance between the quantum dots equals a higher efficiency.

  • Solar3D completes design for 3-D solar cell.

    Solar3D finishes design of 3-dimensional PV cell, on track to have working prototype by year’s end

    13 September 2011, 20:11

    Solar3D advised that its team of researchers and engineers had completed the design for its new three-dimensional (3-D) solar cell. The company advised that with this latest milestone, it is on target to complete a working prototype by the end of the year.

  • Natcore Technology scientists have fabricated two families of multilayer quantum dot films, both of which can produce a photo-generated current. By stacking three cells, each absorbing light from a different part of the spectrum, tandem cells increase efficiency to 30% or more, nearby doubling cell output. Image: PRNewsFoto/Natcore Technology

    Natcore, Rice University team makes progress on next-generation quantum-dot thin-film solar cells

    07 September 2011, 21:05

    Under the joint research agreement between Natcore Technology and Rice University, researchers, led by Professor Andrew Barron, announced that they had constructed two sets of multilayer quantum dot films: one with silicon (Si) quantum dots and the other with germanium (Ge) quantum dots. The team notes that both dot films have shown the ability to create a photo-generated current and that the thin-film solar cell advancement could eradicate the need for a silicon wafer subcell.

  • US Flagmod1 ed0911

    DOE fires off another round of SunShot funding, with $145 million slated for PV R&D, BOS, and beyond

    02 September 2011, 21:12

    In the Department of Energy’s latest move to help foster the next generation of solar technologies and strengthen the US position in the field, more than $145 million will be allocated for 69 projects in 24 states in a variety of disciplines as part of DOE’s SunShot Initiative. Funded through the department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, DOE hopes the projects will accelerate R&D to increase efficiency, lower costs, advance cutting-edge technologies, as well as improve materials, manufacturing processes and supply chains for a wide range of photovoltaic cells and components of solar energy systems.

  • Konica Minolta Sensing's AK series solar reference cell. Image: PRNewsFoto/Konica Minolta Sensing Americas.

    KMSA begins technology drive program for commercial, R&D PV companies in US

    01 September 2011, 19:34

    Konica Minolta Sensing Americas (KMSA) initially launched their Technology Test Drive Program this past July at InterSolar North America in San Francisco with the company recently advising that the program is available for all US-based commercial and R&D solar companies. The program originally sought to give educational institutions equipment like solar spectroradiometers for a one week evaluation period so that new PV industry technology could be tested by leading researchers in the industry.

  • NREL's solar testing facility.

    NREL, German researchers sign MOU for advancement of solar cells, fuels

    27 June 2011, 20:46

    American researchers from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with German researchers aiming to make new developments in solar cells and solar fuel production. The MOU will also see the two teams working to improve the performance of concentrating solar thermal power systems.

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Publications

  • Photovoltaics International 14th Edition

    Photovoltaics International 14th Edition

    Published in November 2011, the 14th edition of Photovoltaics International provides a variety of technical papers from some of the industry’s stalwarts. Features include: TÜV Rheinland on junction box testing; Laser Zentrum Hannover on laser edge isolation of mc-Si cells; Calisolar on the importance of traceability; Fraunhofer ISE on EWT cells; and EPIA on Europe’s LCOE.

  • Photovoltaics International Lite, Volume 05 - 2011

    Photovoltaics International Lite, Volume 05 - 2011

    This digital interactive Lite sees Tom Cheyney follow Agua Caliente’s progress on becoming one of first truly utility-scale PV power farms, where 40–50MW (AC) will be commissioned by the end of the year. We also feature one of the world’s largest silicon thin-film PV power plants, Avenal; a report on warnings of the collapse of module prices from Solarbuzz and PI-Berlin presents tips on PV module testing. A print version of this edition will be distributed at Solar Power International 2011 in Dallas, Texas.

  • Manufacturing The Solar Future: The 2011 Production Annual

    Manufacturing The Solar Future: The 2011 Production Annual

    Manufacturing the Solar Future is the primary source guide for detailed information on the PV production process. This annual provides technical details on how the leading companies and research organizations worldwide are addressing this need by dramatically improving their manufacturing processes.

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