Solar innovation awards
In the rapidly evolving world of solar and storage, companies are constantly striving to improve performance, increase efficiency, and make life easier for users and installers by developing new innovative products. Every year, the Clean Energy Reviews team researches, tests, and examines hundreds of products to keep our information up to date and in line with the latest solar, EV and battery industry trends. Throughout 2021, manufacturers released numerous solar panels, inverters, battery systems and EV chargers, and a few of these stood out from the crowd due to their clever innovations and features. This year, for the first time, we decided to acknowledge and award the most innovative new products of 2021.
Selection Criteria
Innovation can come in many different forms. Our selection criteria focused on improvements that help not only performance and efficiency but help increase lifespan, reduce risks and hazards, and help products become more sustainable or reduce their environmental footprint.
The 5 key selection criteria: Innovations or features that improve Reliability, increase Efficiency, enhance Safety, improve Sustainability and enhance Performance through smart control features.
2021 Award winners
Solar Panel Innovation award
REC Alpha Pure
REC Solar is no stranger to innovation with a long history of developing advanced solar cell technologies. The most well-known of these is the half-cut solar cell pioneered by REC in 2014, which have since become the industry standard due to the increased performance and efficiency. Building on this experience, REC developed the Alpha series of panels based on the same half-cut format but utilising the more efficient heterojunction (HJT) cells.
Earlier in 2021, the Alpha Pure panels were born. These second-generation Alpha panels use a larger 132 cell format utilising more efficient HJT cells boosting efficiency to an impressive 21.9%. The Alpha Pure panels are packed with the latest PV technology, including 16 micro-busbars in a high-density gap-less, lead-free cell layout, along with increased sustainability with the removal of lead from all other soldered components, cross-connectors and junction boxes. The final result is not only one of the most efficient solar panels available, but also one of the most environmentally friendly.
See our detailed REC solar panel review
REC Alpha pure panels are built on high-purity N-type cells which are bonded without requiring solder or lead.
Solar Inverter Innovation award
Fronius GEN24 Plus
It may come as no surprise that the Fronius GEN24 Plus earned the 2021 inverter innovation award. While it was a long wait, the GEN24 hybrid inverter certainly delivered numerous unique features and innovations. A standout feature is the unique styling which utilises a spiral heatsink design and active (fan-forced) cooling system. Interestingly, the front cover adds another layer of thermal protection as its offset position effectively shields the inverter body from direct sunlight.
Inside, the innovations continue, with PV Point providing up to 3kVA of backup power without a battery, plus full Backup power of up to 6kVA when installed with a battery system. The dual MPPT's feature a wide voltage range from 65V to 530V plus it can handle parallel strings thanks to the high 22A current rating. The GEN24 follows the previous snap-in design with a cable connection cavity but uses improved push-in spring terminals and offers rear cable entry. Furthermore, there's numerous integrated energy management functions, WLAN connection, Ethernet connectivity and six digital inputs and outputs. Finally, the GEN24 Plus is the first inverter developed with disassembly in mind. The inverter is designed around a unique service concept where individual parts can be replaced, making servicing easier and improving sustainability.
See our full review of the Fronius inverter range
The Fronius GEN24 inverter is designed to make service and disassembly fast & easy
Battery system Innovation award
Huawei LUNA2000
While the Huawei LUNA2000 battery system first appeared to be similar in function to several other high-voltage home battery systems, it’s packed with unique and clever innovations. Underneath the slimline design, the Luna battery contains many features designed to improve performance, safety and reliability. These include an AI-powered internal cell short circuit diagnosis to avoid fire hazards, 0V rapid shutdown for safer installation and maintenance, and cell-level temperature control to detect overheating, along with an internal fan and heatsink to help dissipate heat. On the other extreme, lithium batteries can suffer from severely reduced charging rates in sub-zero temperatures. To address this, each 5kWh module contains an internal 300W heating element that preheats the cells and enables charging in freezing conditions.
Another notable characteristic is that each 5kWh module operates independently, due to the parallel configuration. This is different from most modular high-voltage batteries which are connected in series to increase voltage. The energy optimiser in each battery module allows new and old batteries to work at their optimum capacity. In regular high-voltage battery systems, a poorly performing module will affect the whole stack; fortunately, this won't be an issue in the Luna2000 system. Hence, Huawei has dubbed this the smart string energy storage system.
See our full review of the Huawei inverters and LUNA2000 battery
The energy optimiser in each Huawei module allows all batteries to all work at their optimum capacity.
EV Charger Innovation award
Smappee EV Wall
Electric vehicles consume a lot of energy and smart EV chargers are essential to manage the charging process, reduce costs and increase self-sufficiency. The Smappee EV Wall grabbed our attention thanks to its clever innovations, advanced energy management features and intelligent controls. Many of the leading smart chargers feature load-balancing and solar EV charging, but the EV wall goes one step further and offers home energy management thanks to the integrated Infinity system. This intelligent system can be easily expanded to monitor up to 28 different circuits, enabling appliance level data, control and automation.
The Smappee EV wall is available in user-adjustable single (7.4kWK) or 3-phase (22kW) varieties. It also comes with three CT meters and a hub to enable smart solar charging and dynamic load-balancing to prevent overloading the grid supply when the demand is high. Additionally, the EV wall system works with IoT (smart) products and can be started and allows for payments via QR code or RFID.
See our full review of the best smart EV chargers including the Smappee EV Wall
The integrated Infinity system is modular and can monitor up to 28 different circuits.
Bidirectional EV chargers are sophisticated EV chargers capable of two-way charging; charging an EV and discharging energy back into the grid, known as V2G. In this article, we review the Bidirectional EV chargers currently available or under development.