EF Solare Italia places technological innovation among its current growth drivers.
FROM MACHINE LEARNING TO CALCOGENS: THE LATEST TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS OF PHOTOVOLTAIC
The photovoltaic industry is undergoing a rapid technological development, aimed at a continuous improvement of systems performances, due to the sector being committed to achieve ambitious growth targets of solar power generation over the next decade, to support both the decarbonisation and the transition from fossil fuels to renewables.
University researchers around the world are working to make solar panels more efficient, starting with the cells: a MIT team estimated that thinning them from 160 micrometers to 50 would lower the cost per watt below 20 cents of a dollar.
A lot of work is also done on materials: in China it has been developed a photovoltaic film made entirely of ethylene vinyl acetate, commonly known with the acronym EVA: according to what it was reported, it would increase the efficiency of conventional crystalline cells by half a percentage point, converting the ultraviolet spectrum into visible light.
The University of Buffalo, in contrast, has aimed for its ultra-thin film on a little-used but inexpensive class of materials, the chalcogenic perovskite. Non-toxic, with excellent light conduction and absorption properties, it is proving to be very promising in several fields of application, including photovoltaics.
In the meanwhile in Korea a new economical and efficient method for making solar cells transparent has been unveiled, particularly for the construction industry, for example in the form of photovoltaic windows.
The research continues also from an IT point of view, against the increasing diffusion of ICT technologies in the sector. Several US research groups are developing machine learning programs and stand-alone systems to improve the IT security of inverters, which will soon be tested on commercial installations. Machine learning is also used to improve business performance, from investment optimization to panel orientation.
EF Solare Italia, as the first photovoltaic operator in the country, places technological innovation among its current growth drivers and stands as technological leader to guide this process, even adopting the most promising solutions in the operational management of its own plant fleet.