China-based polysilicon and multicrystalline wafer producer Daqo New Energy has said it would discontinue its solar wafer manufacturing operations in September, 2018.
Much has been written and voiced over the past couple of months in the PV industry, following the so-called China-531 policy announcement that finally provided a wake-up call to Chinese manufacturers that their domestic end-market was not going to be allowed to maintain its near-exponential growth characteristics.
Meyer Burger’s patented SmartWire Connection Technology (SWCT) uses a patented foil-wire electrode with up to 24 round wires to electrically interconnect solar cells and is said to set a benchmark in terms of module performance and low manufacturing costs within the ‘Ibex’ SWCT stringer system.
DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions has developed a proprietary metallization paste design that is said to deliver better contact performance and high aspect ratios.
China-based PV module assembly equipment specialist Yingkou Jinchen Machinery Co reported record second quarter 2018 operating income as key PV manufacturers in China continued to add new module capacity in the first half of 2018, notably through fully-automated solar module assembly lines.
China-based PV module manufacturer Hareon Solar Technology Co, has reported unaudited first half 2018 financial results, highlighting the collapse in the company in 2017, as losses mounted and was forced into major restructuring in 2018.
PV module assembly firm New-Tek in Kyrgyzstan has received TÜV Rheinland certifications related to IEC 61215:2016 and IEC 61730:2016 standards on module reliability.
PV module equipment measurement specialist Endeas Oy has developed a new method to measure the steady-state I-V curves in PV modules using high-efficiency solar cells such as PERC, and especially HJT or IBC as solar simulators currently in production applications have limited accuracy, according to the company.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member GCL System Integrated Technology (GCL-SI) reported a significant shift of its sales to outside China in the first half of 2018, accounting for 45.80% of total sales in the reporting period that also helped return the company to profitability.
Perovskite solar cell developer Oxford Photovoltaics (PV) has been awarded a €2.8 million grant from the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy to prepare perovskite-silicon solar cells for high-volume manufacturing.
