PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG has reported revenue in the first nine months of 2015 of €169 million, in line with lower guidance due to order delays and cancellations of around €140 million.
According to PV Tech’s preliminary analysis of global PV manufacturing expansion plans for the month of October 2015, new announcements reached 1.1GW in relation to thin film, c-Si solar cell and module assembly.
Silicon Module Super League member Hanwha Q CELLS has confirmed that its strategic partnership to collaborate on the development of 1366 Technologies proprietary ‘Direct Wafer’ technology has resulted in its R&D pilot line achieving 19.1% cell efficiencies.
High-tech equipment manufacturer Intevac has said it is experiencing some further interest from solar cell producers in Asia that have booked several new tool orders recently.
US-Based ‘Direct Wafer’ producer, 1366 Technologies has reported a champion cell that has achieved a cell conversion efficiency of 19.1%, verified by Fraunhofer ISE.
Teams from solar cell research institute Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the university École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have combined a silicon heterojunction solar cell with a perovskite solar cell monolithically into a tandem device and reached a record efficiency of 18%, with potential to hit 30% after further modifications.
A heterojunction c-Si solar cell with a conversion efficiency of 25.1% has been showcased by its maker at an event hosted by the Japanese government to exhibit technological innovations in “new energy”.