zsw

US cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film solar manufacturer First Solar has agreed to pursue further thin-film technology development with Germany’s Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW).

Renewables covered about 52% of gross domestic electricity consumption in H1 2023, three percentage points higher (49%) than the same period in 2022.

Favorable weather conditions in Germany contributed to renewables accounting for more than half of power generation in January and February this year.

Land and subsidy restrictions for PV and wind could see country fall short of 65% renewable target by 2030 despite record generation levels, ZSW and BDEW warn.

An initial five-year R&D program is starting between the German-based Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the Institut Photovoltaïque d'Île de France (IPVF) in Paris to develop next-generation flexible photovoltaics featuring copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS) solar cells.

PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG has finally secured the largest equipment order in the history of the company after securing orders for two turnkey CIGS production lines totalling 350MW nameplate capacity with China-based Shanghai Electric Group and Shenhua Group.

European scientists have teamed from imec, KIT and ZSW to fabricate a thin-film solar module (lab) stack made up of perovskite and Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) with a conversion efficiency of 17.8%, which surpasses the highest efficiencies of separate perovskite and CIGS modules.