Research
NREL researchers address safety implications of next-generation battery technologies
Report says new evaluation methods, including AI, will help make future batteries safer. If lithium-ion batteries were once viewed as an expensive energy storage solution with tenuous supply chains, mass production has made them both affordable and readily available for a wide variety of applications. Consumer electronics, electric vehicles and, importantly, battery-based energy storage systems […]
IEA-PVPS warns soiling costs solar industry billions per year
The International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA-PVPS) says dust, pollution, and debris on solar panels reduce output by 4% to 7% worldwide, costing the industry billions of euros annually and making tailored mitigation increasingly urgent. From pv magazine Global Soiling on solar installations costs the global solar industry annual revenue losses totaling billions of […]
NREL researchers warn of unexpectedly high UV-induced degradation in n-type solar modules
A research team from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory has analyzed n-type modules deployed in a 3 MW commercial PV project in an effort to assess the high degradation rate reported by the plant owner. The scientists found that ultraviolet-induced degradation (UVID) was a major factor affecting the facility’s performance. From pv magazine Global […]
Tiny pinholes can lead to device failure in perovskite solar cells
Researchers in the United States have found microscopic pinholes in perovskites are responsible for the breakdown of such solar cells when under reverse bias conditions. They say the findings should push scientists and engineers to prioritize the production of pinhole-free films to make perovskites more robust and stable. From pv magazine Global A microscopic weak […]
Scientists boost organic solar cell efficiency using polymer zwitterions
A research team based in China and the United States has developed electroactive polymer zwitterions to modify zinc oxide interlayers in organic solar cells. Their work was found to passivate defects in organic solar cells, helping to improve device performance and stability. From pv magazine Global A group of scientists based in China and the […]