From pv magazine Global

A group of scientists from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) demonstrated that conjugated polymers, which are a class of electronically conductive plastic materials, can be used as an intrinsically conductive adhesive (ICA) to shingled solar cells together.

“This is a new application for a unique class of plastic materials that we are very excited about,” the research’s corresponding author, Alexander Chen,  told pv magazine. “While this research is still in its infancy, one exciting aspect about this work is the deep literature and diverse chemistry that can be integrated into conjugated polymers for the purpose of making new types of conductive interconnects and adhesives.”

Shingled solar panels feature a busbar-free structure in which only a small proportion of cells are not exposed to sunlight. The cells are bonded with electrically conductive adhesive to form a shingled high-density string and the resulting strips are connected. The reduced number of busbars reduces shadowing losses.

The shingled cells used in the experiment were built with cell technology supplied by California-based startup Sunpreme and intrinsically conductive adhesives (ICAs) based on the PEDOT:PSS polymer. The performance of solar cells constructed with ICAs was compared to that of counterparts based in silver-based electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) and the scientists found the former showed “comparable” electrical properties.

“While today’s dominant busbar-based modules require around 15.8 mg/W silver, we calculate that shingling modules with ICAs can reduce silver consumption to approximately 6.3 mg/W, accelerating our position on the silver learning curve by approximately two decades. These findings suggest that the design of pi-conjugated materials for ICAs could offer a realistic strategy for sustainable deployment of lower-cost, high-power solar modules,” the paper said.

Even with the removal of silver filler, the researchers achieved similar fill factors (FFs) and overall power conversion efficiency with shingled interconnects. “Employing a conducting polymer as the ICA additionally opens a myriad of opportunities for tuning the electronic, mechanical, and adhesive properties for designing next-generation electronic interconnects,” they added.

There are improvements to be made for the research to be applied further, as the researchers acknowledged in a statement to pv magazine. However, they are optimistic these can be made.

“While we found that the adhesion needs to be improved to reach that of commercial products, we are optimistic that designing better conjugated polymers for applications as intrinsically conductive adhesives can be achieved relatively quickly,” Chen stressed. “This area of research builds upon the incredible wealth of knowledge that already exists on tailoring the electrical properties of conducting polymers and the adhesive properties of traditional polymers. There is a large synthetic space that can be quickly explored here.”

The researchers said they collaborated with a PV engineering services company – D2Solar, Inc. – to integrate the proof-of-concept shingles. “We look forward to working with PV manufacturers to test the concept at larger scales and in relevant outdoor environments,” they added.

The ICAs were presented in the paper “Silver-free intrinsically conductive adhesives for shingled solar cells,” published in Cell Reports Physical Science.

From ESS News

U.S.-based energy solutions company Torus has announced the signing of a deal with real estate developer Gardner Group to provide its propriatery BESS and FESS technologies in one of the largest commercial energy storage projects in the U.S. state of Utah.

The deal will see 26 MWh of systems installed and supported by Torus’ proprietary software platform, enabling intelligent energy management, demand response capabilities, and seamless integration with renewable energy sources and EV charging infrastructure.

The project will also leverage Torus’ participation in Rocky Mountain Power’s Wattsmart Battery program, which supports grid resilience through the integration of energy storage resources into a VPP ecosystem. The Torus VPP platform enables predictive analytics for demand response, energy arbitrage, and frequency regulation.

From pv magazine ESS News

California-headquartered renewables company Bitech is selling 2.425 GW of its total 3.840 GW solar project portfolio. According to its website, Bitech’s primary focus as owner operator is the monetization and modernization of its 1.96 GW pipeline of grid-balancing battery energy storage system (BESS) projects. Bitech says it has a combo pipeline of 5.8 GW of BESS and solar projects.

A large part of Bitech’s business model is building partnerships and M&A deals with other renewables businesses, such as Emergen, a company it purchased from Texas-based solar and storage developer Bridgelink on April 24. With this transaction, the solar assets that have now been offloaded had entered Bitech’s portfolio.

Bitech’s wholly owned subsidiary Emergen will receive $19,400,000 from “a non-related third-party purchaser”, if the projects achieve a Point of Interconnection and subsequently obtain all Necessary Land Rights and the option to return certain or all projects is not executed.

Commenting on the decision to divest…

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From pv magazine ESS News site

S-based energy solutions company Torus has announced the signing of a deal with real estate developer Gardner Group to provide its proprietary BESS and FESS technologies in one of the largest commercial energy storage projects in the U.S. state of Utah.

The deal will see 26 MWh of systems installed and supported by Torus’ proprietary software platform, enabling intelligent energy management, demand response capabilities, and seamless integration with renewable energy sources and EV charging infrastructure.

The project will also leverage Torus’ participation in Rocky Mountain Power’s Wattsmart Battery program, which supports grid resilience through the integration of energy storage resources into a VPP ecosystem. The Torus VPP platform enables predictive analytics for demand response, energy arbitrage, and frequency regulation.

“We are thrilled to partner with Gardner Group on this groundbreaking project,” said Nate Walkingshaw, CEO and co-founder of Torus. “This deal demonstrates the growing demand for advanced energy storage solutions in the commercial sector. This is a significant step for energy resilience, sustainability, and cost savings across the Gardner Group portfolio.”

Installation of the project is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year, with the completion date estimated to be in early 2026. Once fully operational, the systems will have the capacity to store and dispatch nearly 26 MWh of energy, equivalent to powering nearly 1,000 homes for a full day.

To continue reading, please visit our new ESS News site.

Apricus Generation said it has acquired a controlling interest in Nexus Renewables, a Canadian solar and storage developer and independent power producer (IPP).

Florida-based Apricus Generation said the deal with Nexus Renewables is its first strategic acquisition since it launched earlier this year. It did not provide any additional details about the financial terms of the transaction.