The Big Four site in Tokyo, Japan, where ‘PV Expo 2017’-one of the world``s four largest solar PV expos, has been held on March 2. Visitors were constantly coming on the right side of Panasonic``s exhibition hall. It was a crowd that trying to see ‘Prius Prime’, which was launched by Toyota on February 28.


Toyota``s plug-in hydride car- ‘Prius Prime’ has a unique appearance with Panasonic solar modules mounted on the sunroof. The car was covered with glass co-produced by Toyota and Panasonic on a roof with 56 solar cells, each 125 mm in width and height. The maximum output of the ‘Prius Prime’ is 180W, and the mileage is 6.1km / day, 2.9km / day. It is remarkable that the life span of a solar cell of ‘Prius Prime’ is 20-25 years. And the life span of a vehicle (20 years). Although the mileage is short, it is remarkable as it increases the possibility of using sunlight.

Sharp which was acquired by Hon Hai of Taiwan last year, unveiled ``City Charge``, a life-friendly solar energy product. City Charge is a device that supplies electric power for charging street lights and smart phones with solar light. Sharp exhibited equipment using solar light by decorating the exhibition hall in the form of an outdoor restaurant. The solar module has been attached on one side and the menu board is on the opposite side so that it can be used at night without plugging in the outlet in the case of the store signboard. Outdoor chairs can also be equipped with solar modules to charge electronic devices such as smart phones for 24 hours. A representative of Sharp said, ‘Solar signboards can be easily installed without construction. The front of the solar cell was designed to be safe from external impact.’ Sharp officially launches the new products this winter.

Hanwha Q Cells has introduced ``Smart Module``, which can manage the solar cells attached to the solar modules on a per sheet basis. It was featured in that the user can directly check the state of the solar cell with the smart device through attaching the semiconductor to the device that sends the power produced by the solar module to the inverter. When conventional solar modules shaded in some spaces, the power generation efficiency of the entire panel deteriorated in the past. The ‘Smart Module’ can reduce the power loss compared to the existing products as the parts that are exposed to light operate normally. Hanwha Q Cells plans to mass-produce ‘Smart Module’ in the fourth quarter of this year.

Shinsung Solar Energy has presented ``S-SOLGEN``, the product combines compact solar module and power generation equipment. S-Solzen is a packaged product that applies portable solar modules to generate electricity and supply it with small generation equipment, which can be used in disaster sites and campsites. An industry expert stated, ‘There is a trend of not only large-scale power plants, household products, but also various ideas as the solar market grows to 70GW,.

On the other hand, the CEO of LS Group-Koo Ja Yeol, the executive director of Hanhwa Q Cells-Kim Dong Gwan and president Nam Seong Woo and Lee Wan Keun- the president of Korea Photovoltaic Industry Association have visited the expo. Koo Ja Yeol-the CEO of LS Group stated, ‘Operation Technology (power equipment, etc.) is an advantage that we have had in the past. We will prepare new energies for the future to expand into the Internet of Things business by combining IT convergence.’

Tokyo (Japan)=By Yang Ji Yun galileo@


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