Swiss-based PV manufacturing equipment specialist INDEOtec SA has secured a new order for a combined OCTOPUS II – PECVD/PVD deposition system for high-efficiency and heterojunction solar cells.
Guangdong Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd (Aiko Solar), merchant solar cell producer has launched a high-efficiency P-type mono-PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) bifacial solar cell with front-side cell efficiency >21% and rear-side >15%. The company showcased the bifacial cell at SNEC 2017.
The vast number of announcements related to P-type mono PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) production in the last 18 months have primarily related to integrated cell and module producers shifting in-house production to the high-efficiency cells, as conventional multicrystalline Al-BSF (Aluminium-Back Surface Field) solar cells reach efficiency limitations.
China-based integrated PV module manufacturer Shanghai Aerospace Automobile Electromechanical Co (HT-SAAE) has established a 300MW solar cell and 600MW module assembly plant in Turkey to meet local demand as well as supply Europe and the US.
The US-based solar module assembly operations of China-based Seraphim Solar is ramping capacity to meet demand. Seraphim Solar USA has also been approved by residential financing firms, including Sungage Financial and Sunnova as an approved vendor.
Huawei Technologies is launching its first smart inverter solution to the global residential solar photovoltaic (PV) market. The ‘FusionHome Smart Energy Solution’ is designed from the bottom-up to be a ‘one-4-all’ (one inverter SKU for all) residential application scenarios that offers a number of key capabilities for future residential home needs such as power optimization, energy storage and smart home integration in a simplified plug & play configuration.
Leading solar PV inverter manufacturer Huawei has unveiled at Intersolar Europe 2017 the ‘Huawei FusionHome Smart Energy Solution’ for the European residential market, its first smart PV hardware and intelligent monitoring software designed for the smart home of the future.
Despite the major exhibition having a European tag, Intersolar Europe remains one of the most ‘international’ solar trade shows on the event calendar. As a result, new products launched at this show predominantly reflect trends and developments across multiple markets. On the first day of the exhibition, several new products stand-out for attention. More Day 1 updates are to follow.
Leading PV manufacturing equipment supplier Meyer Burger said that it had received follow-on orders from two customers based in Asia for its PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) upgrade technology totalling around CHF 80 million (US$82.4 million).
Recently, PV Tech sat down with David Zhao, senior vice president at Sungrow Power Supply and president of the company’s PV & storage division, to gain an insight into the company’s market expectations for 2017, notably outside China, and understand key market and technology trends within the APAC and South East Asia regions, areas that have been key to its continued growth in recent years.
