Winners of pv magazine Awards 2024 announced – SPE

The pv magazine Awards 2024 The winners have been announced, celebrating success in a record year for solar and storage.

This year’s awards program was more competitive than ever, attracting 308 entries from 36 countries. A total of eight pv magazine Award winners were chosen, following a process in which twenty independent jury members from around the world gave their assessment of the solutions on display.

New standards for module efficiency, massive battery growth and innovation across the supply chain were all evident from this year’s entries. The investments in capacity, quality and R&D were clearly visible, but what was most impressive in 2024 is the industry’s continued ability to find new approaches. From cables and inverters to module manufacturing and mega projects, our expert judges were inundated with examples of teams and individuals finding new avenues to explore.

In response to the 2024 participants: pv magazine magazine director Mark Hutchins said, “These top innovators in solar and energy storage provide a clear demonstration of our industry’s willingness to play a bigger role in powering the world.”

And the winners are…

Modules

Winner: Aiko Solar Energy, Infinite Module Series

Aiko isn’t the first manufacturer to embrace back-contact technology, but the third generation of its All Back Contact (ABC) module series sets new standards for high performance. It features a module efficiency of 25%, which translates into a 20W to 30W increase in power. That brings the rooftop module to a power of between 655W and 680W and the utility-scale device above the 700 Wp.

Highly recommended: Astronergy, Astro N7 series

Inverters

Winner: Kostal Solar Electric, Plenticore G3

The Kostal Plenticore G3 is designed for the residential solar energy market. One of the most innovative features is the future-proof design. For example, homeowners can initially purchase the Plenticore G3 as a basic solar inverter and later unlock additional features through a software update, such as hybrid inverter capability for battery integration.

Highly recommended: Ingeteam, INGECON H2 E series

Projects

Winner: Proa Analytics, Capacity Forecasting

Proa Analytics used advanced forecasting and energy management systems to bring factories back online in accordance with challenging technical regulations. The Australian company’s Capacity Forecasting System has enabled two grid-connected PV installations to send robust power to the grid: the 10 MW Robertson Barracks and the 3.2 MW Royal Australian Air Force Darwin solar farms. More accurate forecasts mean both plants can meet the Northern Territory government’s technical specifications for connection to the electricity grid.

High praise: Arevon Energy, Inc., Viking’s solar-plus-storage project

Battery energy storage systems

Winner: Fike Corporation, Fike Blue

Battery thermal runaway incidents are a relatively new phenomenon and while battery fires remain rare, effective suppression methods are critical. US-based Fike Corporation has brought its own solution to market with Fike Blue, a product billed as “the first tested and patented solution that not only suppresses fire, but also stops thermal flooding.”

High praise: Twaice, Twaice Performance Manager
High praise: Elisa, Elisa Distributed Energy Storage (DES)

Balance of system

Winner: Shoals Technologies Group, 2 kV Solutions Portfolio

Shoals Technologies Group is leading the transition to 2 kV system architecture. Proponents of 2 kV direct current (DC) architecture for solar equipment claim it will improve efficiency, reduce costs and increase scalability.

Previous transitions have seen standard voltage levels increase from 600 V to 1 kV, followed by the shift to 1.5 kV, which now represents the standard in 2024. The rollout of 2 kV systems has been slow because higher power means greater potential for safety risks entails, which is why quality cabling is crucial.

Highly recommended: SenseHawk, TaskMapper

Production

Winner: Wavelabs, Flashboard

The German company Wavelabs has long been a major supplier of test equipment used on production lines. With the Flashboard solution, Wavelabs enables manufacturers to make better use of ‘big data’. The company noted that while many manufacturers are now integrating additional sensors and collecting data at various stages of cell processing, gaining actionable insights from these many data points remains a time-consuming challenge.

The Flashboard solution is based on algorithms that Wavelabs says are “tried and tested” and “guarantee both accurate results and the ease of processing production data.”

Critically acclaimed: Fusion Bionic, laser functionalization for solar glass

Sustainability

Winner: Voltfang, Green Battery Energy Storage System

German battery manufacturer Voltfang is a company built around the circular economy. Voltfang reuses lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles (EVs) to build its energy storage systems, extending the life of the batteries while offering a 10-year warranty.

Voltfang launched its first outdoor battery energy storage system (BESS) in 2023 and has developed an extensive range comprising indoor and outdoor BESS for domestic and commercial applications, with a container solution now in development.

Highly recommended: CND LLC, MEP-CIEMCR, PowerSystems Rwanda Ltd., DatumZero Design

Publisher’s choice

Winner: Waaree Energies Ltd.

Waaree Energies has been unveiled as the Publisher’s Pick winner in the pv magazine Awards 2024, in recognition of its pioneering efforts in the Indian PV market and beyond.

Each year, the pv magazine Awards recognize companies from around the world for their contributions to the solar and storage industries. Waaree Energies was selected by PV magazine publisher Eckhart K. Gouras, who praised the company for its role in the Indian PV market and its success in expanding solar production capacity outside China.

“Given Waaree’s pioneering efforts in the Indian PV market and its continued leadership position in India, we have selected Waaree as this year’s Publisher’s Pick award winner,” said Gouras. “It is the first time we have honored an Indian company with this award and it recognizes the great progress the Indian PV market – and Waaree – has made since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ambitious program to transform the Indian solar industry into a to give impetus.”

For full coverage of the pv magazine Awards 2024, see the winter edition of pv magazine Global, available now.

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