Der neu unter Druck gesetzte Abschnitt von Deutschlands Wasserstoff-Backbone ohne Lieferanten und ohne Abnehmer wird oft als klarer Bruch mit der Vergangenheit beschrieben, als notwendige frühe Investition in eine künftige Wasserstoffwirtschaft. Der Stahl erzählt eine andere Geschichte. Trasse, Durchmesser, Alter und Wirtschaftlichkeit der Pipeline verweisen zurück auf russisches Erdgas, nicht ... [continued]

The post Deutschlands Wasserstoff-Backbone und der lange Schatten des russischen Gases appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Deutschland hat inzwischen rund 400 Kilometer Wasserstoff-Backbone-Pipeline fertiggestellt und unter Druck gesetzt, ohne angeschlossene Lieferanten und ohne vertraglich gebundene Abnehmer — eine Pipeline von nirgendwo nach nirgendwo. Die Infrastruktur existiert und ist betriebsbereit, aber es fließt kein Wasserstoff zu irgendjemandem, der sich verpflichtet hat, dafür zu bezahlen. Dies ist kein ... [continued]

The post Die Opportunitätskosten des deutschen Wasserstoff-Backbones* appeared first on CleanTechnica.

American Automobile Labeling Act reports show that the 2026 vehicle models with the biggest gains in domestic content — US and Canadian content, that is — are electric vehicle models. Experts indicate that is most likely due to policies put in place during the Biden presidency. Subsidies were implemented as ... [continued]

The post Electric Cars Jack Up Domestic Content — Thanks to Biden Policies appeared first on CleanTechnica.

American Automobile Labeling Act reports show that the 2026 vehicle models with the biggest gains in domestic content — US and Canadian content, that is — are electric vehicle models. Experts indicate that is most likely due to policies put in place during the Biden presidency. Subsidies were implemented as ... [continued]

The post Electric Cars Jack Up Domestic Content — Thanks to Biden Policies appeared first on CleanTechnica.

European Union countries deployed record-breaking battery storage capacity for the 12th consecutive year in 2025.

The global energy storage market is poised for continued expansion in 2026, even as supply chain constraints, regulatory evolution, and emerging applications reshape the landscape, according to Wood Mackenzie. 

Scientists have grown organic romaine lettuce under 13 different types of PV modules, in an unusual hot Canadian summer. Their analysis showed lettuce yields increased by over 400% compared to unshaded control plants.

A research group from Canada’s Western University has investigated the performance of organic romaine lettuce, a heat-sensitive crop, under a broad range of agrivoltaic conditions. The test was conducted in London, Ontario, in the summer of 2025, during which 18 days had temperatures over 30 C.

“Our study explores how agrivoltaic systems can be tailored to optimize crop growth, especially under extreme heat conditions, while contributing to sustainable energy generation,” corresponding researcher Uzair Jamil told pv magazine.

“This becomes especially relevant in the context of climate change, where we are experiencing temperature extremes across the world,” Jamil added. “We examined the performance of organic romaine lettuce under thirteen different agrivoltaic configurations – ranging from crystalline silicon PV to thin-film-colored modules (red, blue, green) – in outdoor, high-temperature stress conditions.”

More specifically, the experiment included c-Si modules with 8%, 44% and 69% transparency rate; blue c-Si modules with transparency of 60%, 70%, and 80%; green c-Si modules with transparency of 60%, 70%, and 80%; and red c-Si modules with transparency of of 40%, 50%, 70%, and 80%.

All agrivoltaics installations had a leading-edge height of 2.0 m and a trailing-edge height of 2.8 m, and the modules were oriented southwards at 34◦. Pots with organic romaine lettuce were placed under all configurations, along with three pots fully exposed to ambient sunlight without shading, used as controls.

In addition to measurements against the control, the scientific group has compared the results to the national average per-pot yield for 2022, which included less high-temperature days and was therefore considered typical. Those data points were taken from agricultural census data, which later enabled the researcher also to create nationwide projections of their results.

“Lettuce yields increased by over 400% compared to unshaded control plants, and 200% relative to national average yields,” Jamil said about the results. “60% transparent blue Cd-Te and 44% transparent crystalline silicon PV modules delivered the highest productivity gains, demonstrating the importance of both shading intensity and spectral quality in boosting plant growth.”

Jamil further added that if agrivoltaic were to scale up to protect Canada’s entire lettuce crop, they could add 392,000 tonnes of lettuce.

“That translates into CAD $62.9 billion (USD $46.6 billion) in revenue over 25 years,” he said. “If scaled across Canada, agrivoltaics could also reduce 6.4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over 25 years, making it a key player in reducing the agricultural sector’s environmental footprint.”

The results of the research work were presented in “Enhancing heat stress tolerance in organic romaine lettuce using crystalline silicon and red, blue & green-colored thin film agrivoltaic systems,” published in Solar Energy.

Researchers at SUPSI found that six Swiss PV systems installed in the late 1980s and early 1990s show exceptionally low degradation rates of just 0.16% to 0.24% per year after more than 30 years of operation. The study shows that thermal stress, ventilation, and material design play a greater role in long-term module reliability than altitude or irradiance alone.

A research group led by Switzerland's University of Applied Sciences (SUPSI) has carried out a long-term analysis of six south-facing, grid-connected PV systems installed in Switzerland in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The researchers found that the systems’ annual power loss rates averaged 0.16% to 0.24%, significantly lower than the 0.75% to 1% per year commonly reported in the literature.

The study examined four low-altitude rooftop systems located in Möhlin (310m-VR-AM55), Tiergarten East and West in Burgdorf (533m-VR-SM55(HO)), and Burgdorf Fink (552m-BA-SM55). These installations use ventilated or building-applied rooftop configurations. The analysis also included a mid-altitude utility-scale plant in Mont-Soleil (1270m-OR-SM55) and two high-altitude, facade-mounted systems in Birg (2677m-VF-AM55) and Jungfraujoch (3462m-VF-SM75).

All systems are equipped with either ARCO AM55 modules manufactured by US-based Arco Solar, which was the world’s largest PV manufacturer with just 1 MW capacity at the time, or Siemens SM55, SM55-HO, and SM75 modules. Siemens became Arco Solar’s largest shareholder in 1990. The modules have rated power outputs between 48 W and 55 W and consist of a glass front sheet, ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulant layers, monocrystalline silicon cells, and a polymer backsheet laminate.

The test setup included on-site monitoring of AC and DC power output, ambient and module temperatures, and plane-of-array irradiance measured using pyranometers. Based on site conditions, the researchers classified the installations into low-, mid-, and high-altitude climate zones.

“For benchmarking purposes, two Siemens SM55 modules have been stored in a controlled indoor environment at the Photovoltaic Laboratory of the Bern University of Applied Sciences since the start of the monitoring campaign,” the researchers said. They also applied the multi-annual year-on-year (multi-YoY) method to determine system-level performance loss rates (PLR).

The results show that PLRs across all systems range from -0.12% to -0.55% per year, with an average of -0.24% to -0.16% per year, well below typical degradation rates reported for both older and modern PV systems. The researchers also found that higher-altitude systems generally exhibit higher average performance ratios and lower degradation rates than comparable low-altitude installations, despite exposure to higher irradiance and ultraviolet radiation.

The study further revealed that modules of the same nominal type but with different internal designs show markedly different degradation behaviour. Standard SM55 modules exhibited recurring solder bond failures, leading to increased series resistance and reduced fill factor. By contrast, SM55-HO modules benefited from a modified backsheet design that provides higher internal reflectance and improved long-term stability.

Overall, the findings indicate that long-term degradation in early-generation PV modules is driven primarily by thermal stress, ventilation conditions, and material design, rather than altitude or irradiance alone. Modules installed in cooler, better-ventilated environments demonstrated particularly stable performance over multiple decades.

The test results were presented in the paper “Three decades, three climates: environmental and material impacts on the long-term reliability of photovoltaic modules,” published in EES Solar.

“The study identified the bill-of-material (BOM) as the most critical factor influencing PV module longevity,” they concluded. “Despite all modules belonging to the same product family, variations in encapsulant quality, filler materials, and manufacturing processes resulted in significant differences in degradation rates. Early-generation encapsulants without UV stabilisation showed accelerated ageing, while later module designs with optimised backsheets and improved production quality demonstrated outstanding long-term stability.”

 

The UK-based perovskite solar PV specialist has announced a new metrology research project with Swansea University and a new development agreement with Renolit, a German plastic films, sheets and polymer solutions company.

Power Roll, a UK-based perovskite solar PV specialist, has announced a new metrology research project with Swansea University and a joint development agreement with Renolit, a German plastic films, sheets and polymer solutions company, which will begin with an outdoor field trial in Germany.

In the U.K., samples of Power Roll's patented flexible, micro-groove perovskite solar PV film will be provided to researchers at Swansea University and the National Physical Laboratory in a six-month feasibility project to support the development of inline and end-of-line testing tools for perovskite solar cells.

It also involves the development of stability guidelines for industry standards. Without these advancements, perovskite solar cell companies “could face significant hurdles in achieving product accreditation,” noted the company.

“The project will support scalable roll-to-roll manufacturing of lightweight perovskite PV, delivering commercial prototypes, testing protocols, and an invited academic review to strengthen UK capability in advanced semiconductor photovoltaics,” Nathan Hill, Power Roll Senior Scientist, told pv magazine.

It entails assessment of standards, metrology techniques, equipment, routes to characterize large scale devices and artificial intelligence (AI) pertaining to monitoring during manufacture.

In December, Renolit and Power Roll announced an 18-month joint development agreement that will begin with an outdoor trial of the UK company’s micro-groove perovskite prototypes on a Renolit building façade in Germany.

The initial deployment will be one to two square meters. There are plans to scale it up in size and power capacity as the project progresses, according to Hill.

“The purpose is to monitor and validate real-world performance and durability, and to understand the potential of the micro-groove solar technology,” Neil Spann, Power Roll CEO, told pv magazine.

Renolit has a commercial interest as a potential supplier of certain film layers to Power Roll, but also to explore integrating Power Roll's solar film into its existing building materials product lines, and to explore the potential of manufacturing under license in Europe, according to Spann.

Power Roll has also completed tests of smaller devices at its headquarters.

Renolit France, the French branch of the German company, recently launched a new PVC-based mounting product for rooftop PV systems.

Power Roll, founded in 2012, has proven its technology and manufacturing process, and secured 27 patent families.

Preparing to kick off the Burnaby Board of Trade’s 2026 Clean Energy Summit next month felt like the right moment to take inventory. Burnaby sits inside a province where roughly 98% of electricity is already non emitting, hosts a dense cluster of clean energy companies, and also contains a noticeable ... [continued]

The post The Future Is Already Here, It’s Just Unevenly Distributed appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Der Vergleich zwischen Deutschlands Wasserstoff-Backbone von nirgendwo nach nirgendwo und Chinas angeblich über 1.000 km langer Wasserstoffpipeline taucht immer wieder auf und wird oft als Beleg dafür gerahmt, dass Deutschland lediglich früh dran sei und nicht falsch liege. Das ist eine berechtigte Frage, denn aus der Distanz wirken beide Projekte ... [continued]

The post Gleiche Länge, unterschiedliche Logik: Chinas industrielle Wasserstoffpipeline im Vergleich zu Deutschlands Backbone appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Die Idee einer europäischen Prämie für grünen Stahl hat sich in den vergangenen Jahren weitgehend etabliert. Sie beruht auf der Annahme, dass Europa seinen Stahlsektor im Inland dekarbonisieren kann, höhere Produktionskosten durch eine Mischung aus politischer Unterstützung und Zahlungsbereitschaft der Abnehmer auffängt und dabei seine industrielle Wettbewerbsfähigkeit bewahrt. Diese Annahme ... [continued]

The post Warum grüner Stahl — nicht grünes Eisen — Europas industrielle Zukunft bestimmt* appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Die wichtigste politische Lehre aus dem 400 km langen europäischen Wasserstoff-Backbone-Abschnitt ohne Lieferanten und ohne Abnehmer, einer Pipeline von nirgendwo nach nirgendwo, über den ich kürzlich geschrieben habe, ist, dass Dekarbonisierung an Nachfrage-Realismus scheitert oder gelingt, nicht an technologischer Ambition. Europa wusste bereits Ende der 2000er-Jahre, dass eine tiefgreifende Elektrifizierung ... [continued]

The post Europa baute Wasserstoffinfrastruktur statt des benötigten Stromnetzes* appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Tesla’s decision to remove Autopilot and Autosteer as standard features in North America initially struck me as a step backward for safety, a cash grab for the Full Self Driving monthly subscription and as such an attempt to boost TSLA stock price. That reaction was almost automatic. I’ve used and ... [continued]

The post Tesla Removed Autopilot. The Data Says Safety Wasn’t Lost appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Tesla’s decision to remove Autopilot and Autosteer as standard features in North America initially struck me as a step backward for safety, a cash grab for the Full Self Driving monthly subscription and as such an attempt to boost TSLA stock price. That reaction was almost automatic. I’ve used and ... [continued]

The post Tesla Removed Autopilot. The Data Says Safety Wasn’t Lost appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Using satellite data, Keck School of Medicine of USC researchers reported the first statistically significant decrease in nitrogen dioxide linked to zero-emissions vehicles. When California neighborhoods increased their number of zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) between 2019 and 2023, they also experienced a reduction in air pollution. For every 200 vehicles added, ... [continued]

The post Adoption of Electric Vehicles Tied to Real-World Reductions in Air Pollution, Study Finds appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia, have directly observed how silicon solar cells can self-repair UV damage under sunlight.

Recent advances in large-scale diffusion models have revolutionized generative AI across multiple domains, from image synthesis to audio generation, 3D asset...

Recent advances in large-scale diffusion models have revolutionized generative AI across multiple domains, from image synthesis to audio generation, 3D asset creation, molecular design, and beyond. These models have demonstrated unprecedented capabilities in producing high-quality, diverse outputs across various conditional generation tasks. Despite these successes…

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We keep seeing LLMs with larger context windows in the news, along with promises that they can hold entire conversation histories, volumes of books, or multiple...

We keep seeing LLMs with larger context windows in the news, along with promises that they can hold entire conversation histories, volumes of books, or multiple codebases in view at once. And yet, these models still repeat the same mistakes. We still have to copy and paste the earlier context back into the chat for LLMs to “get it”. A smart co-worker would pick up on these patterns, adapt…

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Building powerful physical AI models requires diverse, controllable, and physically-grounded data at scale. Collecting large-scale, diverse real-world datasets...

Building powerful physical AI models requires diverse, controllable, and physically-grounded data at scale. Collecting large-scale, diverse real-world datasets for training can be expensive, time-intensive, and dangerous. NVIDIA Cosmos open world foundation models (WFMs) address these challenges by enabling scalable, high-fidelity synthetic data generation for physical AI and the augmentation of…

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