Solar Cells Info

by Christoph Hammerschmidt, EE Times Europe
05/25/2009 5:03 PM
Munich, Germany, 25 May 2009
Source: EETimes
http://eetimes.eu/germany/217600808

A team of researchers at the Stuttgart university has achieved an efficiency record for laser-processed solar cells based on crystalline silicon. The manufacturing process is fit for industrial volume production, the research group claims.  The postgraduate research group led by Jürgen Köhler managed to produce crystalline silicon solar cells with an efficiency of 19 percent. Hitherto, this technology was limited to 16 percent.  In the normal solar cell manufacturing, the pn junction is achieved in a high-temperature process in a diffusion furnace. The Stuttgart research group however used a pulsed laser beam instead in order to achieve the doping. (more…)

by Alan Fischer, Tucson Citizen, April 17, 2009
Source:
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/114651.php

Five new projects granted $4 million in seed money could help make Arizona a center for solar development, backers said Friday.  Science Foundation Arizona announced the projects, and the formation of its new Solar Technology Institute, at lunch events in Tucson and Phoenix.  The Tucson event, attended by about 100 industry, government and university officials, was held just outside a 310,000- square-foot solar array that provides power at Global Solar Energy, 8500 S. Rita Road. (more…)

Source: ProActiveInvesters.com, April 14, 2009
http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/1218/
dyesol-engaged-for-feasibility-study-for-glass-dye-solar-cells-in-turkey-1218.html

Dyesol (ASX:DYE) has been engaged by Nesli Dye Solar Cells Enerji Sistemleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi (Nesli) to complete a detailed feasibility study establishing a glass-based DSC volume manufacturing facility in Turkey. Nesli has secured a line of funding for a phased development program, with initial capacity growing in discrete stages to 100,000m2 before expanding to a 500,000m2 manufacturing capability in the subsequent stage. Nesli is supported in the commercialisation by the Turkish Development Bank (Turkiye Kalkinma Bankasi – TKB). (more…)

by Christoph Hammerschmidt, EE Times Europe
MUNICH, Germany, 9 April 2009
Source: http://eetimes.eu/uk/216500047

Solar cells currently have two weak points: Efficiency and operational lifetime. While dozens of research teams pursuit the task to improve the conversion efficiency, almost nobody seemed to be interested in the operational lifetime topic. Now this has changed; IMEC partners with Cytec Industries to develop PV devices with extended lifetime. (more…)

SAN FRANCISCO and WUXI, China, April 6, 2009
Source: Suntech Power Holdings Press release/PRNewswire

Swinburne University of Technology has teamed up with Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), the world’s largest photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturer, to create the next generation of solar cells. The Australian university and Suntech will collaborate to develop solar cells that are twice as efficient and run at half the cost of those currently available.  Swinburne will contribute $3 million dollars to the venture, with Suntech pledging a further $3 million over the course of the collaboration. The project is also seeking funding from the Victorian Government. (more…)

by Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang,
Source: DIGITIMES, 16 April 2009
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20090416PD217.html

Taiwan exported 900MWp of crystalline silicon solar cells in 2008, taking up 16.4% of the total 5.5GWp of photovoltaic (PV) systems installed around the world, according to the Photovoltaics Technology Center (PTC) under the government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan. (more…)

Source: ScienceDaily, Apr. 10, 2009
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409151444.htm

In the race to renewable energy, organic solar cells are now really starting to take off. They can be manufactured easily and cheaply, they have low environmental impact, and since they are compatible with flexible substrates, they could be used in many applications such as packaging, clothing, flexible screens, or for recharging cell phones and laptops.  Teams at the Laboratoire d’ingénierie moléculaire d’Angers in Angers (CNRS/Université d’Angers) and at the Laboratoire des matériaux, surfaces et procédés pour la catalyse in Strasbourg (CNRS/Université Strasbourg 1) have recently obtained record conversion efficiency with solar cells based on organic molecules. (more…)

by Russell Gold, Wall Street Journal, April 10, 2009
Source:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123930640357406039.html

In a bid to drive down costs, BP Solar, a subsidiary of oil giant BP PLC, says it will increasingly rely on third-party suppliers to build solar cells and modules.  The decision last month to close a manufacturing facility outside Madrid and partially close another near Baltimore was “designed to get us out of manufacturing that is not competitive,” says Rayed Fezzani, chief executive of BP Solar. He said BP would contract with companies to supply the material, which would still carry BP’s warranty and brand name. More than 600 BP workers were laid off in the plant closings. (more…)

by Mami Akasaka, Tech-On!, April 15, 2009
Source: Tech-On English
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20090417/168926/?ST=english_PRINT

The Japan Patent Office announced the results of its survey on trends in solar cell-related patent applications. According to the results, Japanese applicants took the lead in the area of silicon solar cells, while European applicants outpaced the others in the area of organic semiconductor solar cells.  About 7,970 solar cell-related patents were filed around the world during the period between 2000 and 2006. By nationality, Japanese applications accounted for 68.4%, far more than European (15.3%) and US (10.6%) applications. (more…)

by Jon Kalish / How To Build Your Own Solar Backpack
Source: NPR.org  – Weekend Edition Sunday, April 19, 2009
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103230940

Even before the economy tanked, interest was growing in the do-it-yourself movement. The DIY ethic embraces the notion of recycling and repurposing objects, snatching things from the jaws of the landfill and making them useful again.  Here, a look at how to make something that anyone with an iPod could use: a solar-powered charging backpack. (more…)