National Renewable Energy Laboratory NREL

Nanotube semiconductors well-suited for PV systems

Researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) discovered single-walled carbon nanotube semiconductors could be favorable for photovoltaic systems because they can potentially convert sunlight to electricity or fuels without losing much energy.

Flipping a chemical switch helps perovskite solar cells beat the heat

Thin films of crystalline materials called perovskites provide a promising new way of making inexpensive and efficient solar cells. Now, an international team of researchers has shown a way of flipping a chemical switch that converts one type of perovskite into another — a type that has better thermal stability and is a better light absorber.

Scale up on ocean wave energy harvesting

The Mechanical Motion Rectifier, a novel power takeoff that uses the up and down and back and forth oscillation of wave energy and turns it into a unidirectional rotation to drive the generator.

Nearly $4 million in federal funds to boost solar bankability

The U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative selected four organizations - SGIP, SunSpec Alliance, kWh Analytics, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) - to lead the Orange Button initiative and to streamline the way the solar industry establishes and manages data.

SGIP to lead stakeholder engagement, strategy for Orange Button

SGIP has announced that it is receiving approximately $600,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative to manage stakeholder engagement, strategy, and program evaluation for the Orange Button initiative.

What's hot and what's not in Printed Electronics

IDTechEx has been following the printed electronics market for fifteen years. In this article we provide ten brief updates across different parts of the industry.

Potential for capturing waste heat via nanotubes

A finely tuned carbon nanotube thin film has the potential to act as a thermoelectric power generator that captures and uses waste heat.

What's Trending in Printed Electronics

From many different angles, the printed electronics sector is gaining commercial momentum. In this article, IDTechEx explores some of the top trends in the industry.

Key improvement made in solar cell voltage technology

Researchers improved the maximum voltage available from a cadmium telluride solar cell, overcoming a practical limit that has been pursued for six decades and is key to improving efficiency.

First Solar achieves another cell conversion efficiency world record

First Solar Inc has announced it has established yet another world record for cadmium-telluride photovoltaic research cell conversion efficiency, achieving 22.1 percent efficiency.

New efficiency record with dual-junction solar cell

Scientists have jointly set a new world record for converting non-concentrated (1-sun) sunlight into electricity using a dual-junction III-V/Si solar cell.

Sensors that could harvest clean energy from traffic on Texas roads

Researchers have been awarded a $1.32 million contract from the Texas Department of Transportation to design and develop a system to harvest energy created by the movement of vehicles along the state's roadways and convert it into low-cost renewable electric power.

Printing & vacuum deposition: Competing for market share

Flexible electronic devices are starting to experience significant proliferation, with more and more devices with innovative form factors being brought to market, from small components such as disposable sensors that have been in the market for quite some time now, all the way to new flexible smart phones currently being demonstrated by consumer electronics giants like Samsung and LG.

Energy independent vehicles emulate static off-grid experience

Off-grid electricity production on land has lessons for energy independent electric vehicles (EIVs) that come later. These generate all their own electricity from wind, waves, sun and other forms of ambient energy - free and clean.

Report on EV Roadmap8 Portland Oregon 28-29 July

This event of a few hundred people and twenty or so exhibitors had a good range of coverage from many choices of EV test drive to sitting in on focus groups of people minded to buy an EV.

Report on EV Roadmap 8 Portland Oregon 28-29 July Day One

Summary of the first day of the EV Roadmap 8 event taking place in Portland, Oregon

Alta Devices

Alta Device is working on thin film GaAs solar cells. The company was founded in 2008 by professors Harry Atwater from Cal Tech and Eli Yablonovitch from Berkeley. In August of 2014, Alta Devices was acquired by Hanergy Holdings, Inc.

A better method for making perovskite solar cells

Research has revealed a new way to make light-absorbing perovskite films for use in solar cells.

Perovskites provide big boost to silicon solar cells

Stacking perovskites, a crystalline material, onto a conventional silicon solar cell dramatically improves the overall efficiency of the cell, according to a new study.

45.7% efficiency for concentrator solar cell

The demonstration of a 45.7 percent conversion efficiency for a four-junction solar cell at 234 suns concentration.