Group 5 metals improve First Solar panels

First Solar Inc. is leveraging the power of Group 5 elements to nearly eliminate the degradation of its newest generation of photovoltaic solar panels.

Group 5 refers to vanadium, niobium, tantalum, and dubnium that are in the fifth vertical row from the right on the periodic table. Only the first three are naturally occurring refractory metals – dubnium has been produced in laboratories but has o...