When we established the Silicon Module Super League (SMSL) a few years ago, it was prompted by the realisation that a select group of solar PV module suppliers were moving away from the 100+ chasing pack, and firmly establishing themselves as the companies that would be the dominant players as the industry moved towards and above annual shipment levels of 100GW.
Hanergy Thin Film Power Group has claimed a new conversion efficiency record for an N-type monocrystalline heterojunction solar cell with a conversion efficiency of 24.23%.
This article reveals the top 10 module suppliers of 2018, based purely on own-brand shipped module MWp-dc volumes. This ranking complements our recently published top 10 cell producers feature.
According to provisional data from BloombergNEF (BNEF), global solar PV installations reached 109GW in 2018 as the cost of installing a megawatt of photovoltaic capacity fell 12%, which spurred markets outside China to increase installations.
Solar cell production in 2018 represented change on many fronts, but may be remembered as a year during which Chinese-owned companies made further strategic moves as part of the current Beijing mandate to position the country as a high-tech manufacturing global powerhouse.
PV research institute Fraunhofer ISE has reported a new efficiency record of 22.3% for a multi-junction solar cell made of silicon and III-V semiconductor materials using a direct epitaxy process developed with tool supplier AIXTRON.
Having acquired PV Evolution Labs (PVEL) in early 2014 by DNV GL the lab has become a separate legal entity again under the ownership of PVEL’s former founder, Jenya Meydbray.
Sweden-based flexible CIGS thin-film solar cell equipment supplier Midsummer has recently said it had secured a U$7 million order from US start-up, Sunflare, which has developed a new solar roof tile system that was displayed at SPI 2018.
European solar industry trade body SolarPower Europe has said it has started a major campaign to bring back at least 5GW of large-scale PV manufacturing in the region, including the complete supply chain required to support the scheme.
