Australia-based perovskite solar cell developer GreatCell Solar, formerly Dyesol has recently secured European Union (EU) funding of €500,000 (approximately A$800K) through the Horizon 2020 project.
US-based PV installer RGS Energy (RGSE), which acquired exclusive rights to Dow Chemical’s third generation (3.0) solar shingles under the ‘POWERHOUSE’ brand, but using conventional crystalline silicon solar cells rather than the original CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenide) thin-film substrates, has included China-based PV manufacturer, Risen Energy as a key supplier.
The Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has set a new R&D goal to develop a commercially viable thin-film-on-silicon tandem solar cell with 30% conversion efficiencies.
India has launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of EVA sheets for solar modules from China, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.
Leading integrated high-efficiency monocrystalline module manufacturer and ‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member LONGi Green Energy Technology set a new solar industry R&D expenditure record in 2017, not only surpassing the two historical leaders, First Solar and SunPower, but also spending more in one year than any PV manufacturer to date.
PV CellTech 2018 saw Chief Technology Officers and senior executives from the world's top solar cell manufacturers and equipment suppliers give key indications of which cell technologies will be driving the industry in the coming years.
Softbank Vision Fund (SBVF) and GCL Group holding company have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to launch a US$930 million joint venture in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, primarily to manufacture PV ingots, wafers, solar cells and modules.
Inline solar cell measurement equipment specialist Aurora Solar Technologies (AST) has secured a new Collaborative Research Agreement (CRA) with the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), which includes the previous work planned on heterojunction (HJ) cells but also creates opportunities in the growing R&D market for solar cell design and qualification.
China headquartered PV thin-film equipment and module producer Hanergy Thin Film Power Group (Hanergy TF) has created a completely new business model in 2017 that provides new industrial parks a selection from a portfolio of a-Si, CIGS, GaAs and c-Si heterojunction (HJ) turnkey production lines to provide local governments access to solar technology and attract other hi-tech companies to new industrial parks.
German-based monocrystalline PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) PV module manufacturer SolarWorld Industries has filed for bankruptcy a second time in less than a year.
