Poland-based PSC developer Saule Technologies recently announced a partnership with Columbus Energy, the largest service provider on the market of photovoltaic installations in Poland.
As part of this partnership, Saule Technologies received a €10 Million investment from Columbus Energy.
University of North Texas professor Anupama Kaul has received a $474,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research under the Department of Defense to develop new perovskite-based solar cell technology.
Kaul, who directs the Nanoscale Materials and Devices Lab and the PACCAR Technology Institute, intends to utilize perovskite materials that are extremely efficient at absorbing incoming light. Many perovskites used in solar cell research are made with solutions, and yet, remarkably, the solution processed materials are still highly absorbing to incoming light. The main advantage of solution processing is that it greatly reduces manufacturing costs of solar cells compared to the sophisticated and expensive infrastructure needed to make them with crystalline materials.
South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) recently released a new roadmap for the domestic solar module industry that puts a strong focus on solar applications.
According to the document, domestic solar manufacturers and research institutes expect tandem solar cell technology based on silicon and perovskite to be the most promising candidates for PV products of the next generation. The Korean semiconductor and display industries, according to the MOTIE, may play a decisive role in this transition by providing its expertise in silicon product and thin film development.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) recently announced $20 million in funding to advance perovskite photovoltaic technologies. To be competitive in the marketplace, perovskite’s long-term durability must be tested and verified, which is the aim of this funding opportunity through DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
“Perovskites are a promising solar technology that could help us reach the next level of innovative and efficient solar power,” said Deputy Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes. “Our goal is to further advance this technology here in the United States. The research and development supported by this $20 million investment will help us better understand how perovskite solar cells, which can be manufactured quickly, can further this mission.”
Australia-based RRAM developer 4DS Memory announced that it has raised a total of $7.6 million AUD ($5.45 million USD) in two financing round. The 4DS memory cell is constructed using an advanced perovskite material, which has the same crystal structure as the inorganic compound calcium titanium oxide.
4DS Memory says that it will use the funds to further develop its Interface Switching ReRAM technology with imec and Western Digital's subsidiary, HGST.