STABILITY OF BLACK INTERCONNECT COATINGS FOR SOLAR PHOTOVOL-TAIC MODULE APPLICATIONS

Aesthetics is crucial in the development of Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) products. Manufacturers strive to mask, typically through expensive manual processes, the reflective metallic interconnects to obtain uniform module colors. Inks offer an automated alternative but must be implemented in the production line and remain stable, maintaining their appearance over time. In this study, three black metallic ribbons were tested: one commercially pre-coated and two coated with UV-curable inkjet printing. Accelerated UV-light exposure was applied according to IEC standards on coupons mimicking glass/backsheet (G/Bs) samples including encapsulant with and without UV blockers. Additionally, one-cell modules with ink-coated ribbons were fabricated using a laboratory-designed automatic inkjet printer and exposed to accelerated UV ageing. Results showed that the commercially available coated ribbon remained stable after 120 kWh/m2 of UV exposure. However, UV-curable inkjet inks caused color changes in the encapsulant around metallic interconnects, regardless of the encapsulant used or the presence or not of UV blockers in the encapsulant. Ink #1 exhibited the most color change under UV-dose. Its main component, 2-phenoexyethyl-acrylate (2-PEA), photodegraded and caused yellowing. An early sign of degradation with a slight increase of 22% in carbonyl index (CI) was observed after 15 kWh/m2 of UV exposure. Encapsulants with UV blockers successfully mitigated 2-PEA photodegradation on G/BS laminates; however, color change occurred with ink #1 despite their application. Using this ink on PV modules results in color change, but the electrical performance remains relatively stable, with less than a 3% power loss after 360 kWh/m2 of UV exposure

Individual Resilience and Academic Achievements: a Soft Traits Approach to Craft Universities’ Placement and Facilitate Firms’ Onboarding

The “person-organization fit” axiom suggests firms are looking for profiles with specific soft skills to face the increasing level of environmental turbulence. However, the universities’ Placement Service is often not targeted on the full profile of the individual which comprises both hard and soft skills. This research studies some soft traits of students during the pandemic period and found that academic achievements can represent indicators of resilience (i.e., positive thinking, emotional intelligence, and planfulness), which is particularly valued by firms hiring new graduates. This soft trait approach—that studies how various measures of soft skills are related to course grades—has a two-fold significance by crafting universities’ placement activities and facilitating firms’ onboarding

Promoting a Sustainable Diffusion of Solar PV Electricity in Africa: Results of the CODEV Project

In this work we present the result of a collaboration between the Polytechnic Schools of Dakar (ESP) and Lausanne (EPFL) on the testing and monitoring of solar photovoltaic modules. The collaboration has involved the exchange of knowledge, methodologies and data, and, in particular, the analysis of the aging of PV modules exposed to the hot semiarid climate of Dakar for eight years. With the aim of promoting a focus on quality and reliability, the long-term goal of the collaboration would be to set-up a testing laboratory for PV modules and systems in Dakar and a training center. The testing laboratory will be working in close collaboration with the University and should potentially have a “lean” and easy-replicable structure. The implementation of a third-party institution able to assess independently the quality of components and support system developers and installers in the design, commissioning and maintenance of PV projects is crucial to promote a “sustainable” diffusion of solar electricity in Africa, particularly when considering the residential and commercial/industrial rooftop PV market segment. By minimizing risk, focus on quality should promote a virtuous cycle leading to: (1) mitigation of financing costs of solar projects, therefore, considerably reducing the overall costs of this technology, (2) increase positive perception and awareness about PV

Modeling potential-induced degradation (PID) in crystalline silicon solar cells: from acceleratea-aging laboratory testing to outdoor prediction

We present a mathematical model to predict the effect of potential-induced degradation (PID) on the power output of c-Si modules in different climates. For the experimental part, we manufacture mini-modules made of two c-Si p-type cells, and use accelerated ageing laboratory testing performed at different combinations of stress factors (temperature, relative humidity, and voltage). By modeling the effect of each stress factor in a step-wise approach, we obtain a model for the PID at constant stress conditions, which agrees well with models that can be found in the literature for full-size modules. Our model is obtained complementing existing models by introducing a term that describes a linear dependence of module’s power degradation on the magnitude of the applied voltage. Since in field installations PV modules are connected in strings and exposed to different potential – and, therefore, stress – levels, this latter term is needed to approach real field conditions. Finally, we present the first attempts to model PID outdoor degradation in different climate conditions based on the proposed model and on the indoor-determined coefficients for the devices tested. The outdoor prediction model makes use of Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) data for a specific location

Learning from the COVID‐19 emergency. The remote working organizational experience in Italian SMEs

The Covid-19 pandemic has put several SMEs in the position of having to deploy remote working. The analysis is focused on the adoption of remote working during the first wave of the pandemic in Italy and conducted on 60 SMEs of the Piacenza area (one of the most affected in Italy) with the aim to study the adoption of remote working in SMEs to verify how the organization of work has changed. It involved 391 employees and investigated the issues of perceived productivity, technological preparation, coordination, programming, and control. Results show that the way work has been organized remotely hasn’t changed substantially: in the first wave of the epidemic, remote working has been considered as a mere replica of face- to-face work, without considerable variations other than the physical location of the workplace (from the office to home). Thanks to the availability of technologies and ability to use by workers - even without adequate training - productivity has not decreased and SMEs can trust their employees even without a direct control

Vetro e Fotovoltaico: due Mondi Sempre piu' Vicini

Il mondo del fotovoltaico è stato fino ad oggi dominato dal silicio. Tuttavia, una grossa potenzialità di riduzione dei costi del FV, risiede in quella che viene definita la seconda generazione del fotovoltaico: le tecnologie a film sottile. La grossa potenzialità di riduzione dei costi dei film sottili risiede in particolare nella possibilità di risparmiare notevolmente sulla quantità del materiale semiconduttore impiegato per realizzare tali dispositivi e per l’alto grado di automazione che le linee di produzione di questi moduli raggiungono.JRC.H.8-Renewable energie

Silicio: Presente e Futuro del Silicio del FV

Oltre il 90% dei moduli oggi in commercio sono in Silicio, elemento che rappresenterà ancora a lungo la principale materia prima del fotovoltaico. Sono ora in fase di studio nuovi processi di produzione dei wafer di Silicio, alcuni quasi maturi per venire applicati nella produzione industriale e che potrebbero rendere il fv assai competitivo con le fonti di energia tradizionali.JRC.H.8-Renewable energie