The Durable Module Materials consortium (DuraMAT) announced in its latest annual report the availability of new PV forecasting tools, and new research results towards the goal of more reliable PV modules.

With PV module capacity ramping up, glass suppliers have been investing in new solar glass production capacity. As in India and China, new facilities are popping up in North America, with unique twists to ensure competitiveness, such as using recycled material.

An Austrian research team has demonstrated that lightweight, flexible and ultra-thin perovskite solar technology can power palm-sized autonomous drones.

The report lists Tesla as number one, followed by South Korean’s LG Energy Solution, Taiwan-based Kung Long Battery, China’s Mustang Battery, along with U.S.-based Solid Power in the top five.

The U.S.-based PV system provider for infrastructure and industrial equipment without grid access has launched a battery health monitoring software module for its flagship Core Solar Power Systems product line.

Sinovoltaics analyzed publicly traded inverter producers using a balance sheet-based model and publicly available financial information to track financial strength over the past three years. The top-five in the latest ranking are Hoymiles Power Electronics, Enphase, Kstar, Eaton, and Goodwe.

A U.S.-based team developed a vapor deposition technique to fabricate outperforming all-inorganic perovskite thin films in under 5 minutes in a continuous process. The adoption of the proposed approach may also result in higher perovskite solar cell power conversion efficiencies.

The U.S. based developer of steel PV module frames said its products are an alternative to conventional aluminum frames. They passed several third party tests as the company readies production and evaluations by module manufacturers.

A new report from the International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA-PVPS) looks at success factors required to take vehicle integrated photovoltaics (VIPV) from niche to mainstream based on a survey of 110 experts in the topic of transport and PV.

Sinovoltaics is studying the changes in the supply chains in manufacturing hubs in Europe and North America to determine site capacity, current and planned, for dozens of manufacturers. The results are being published in free reports.