future timeline technology singularity humanity
 
Blog»

 

4th December 2014

New solar cell efficiency record

A new solar cell efficiency record of 46% has been achieved by a French-German collaboration.

 

new solar cell record

 

A new world record for the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity has been established. The multi-junction solar cell converts 46% of the solar light into electrical energy. It was developed in a joint collaboration between Soitec and CEA-Leti (France), together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE (Germany).

Multi-junction cells are used in concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems to produce low-cost electricity in photovoltaic power plants, in regions with a large amount of direct solar radiation. It is the group's second world record in the last year – after the one previously announced in September 2013 – and clearly demonstrates the strong competitiveness of European photovoltaic research.

Multi-junction solar cells are based on a selection of III-V compound semiconductor materials. The world record cell is a four-junction cell, and each of its sub-cells converts precisely one quarter of the incoming photons in the wavelength range between 300 and 1750 nm into electricity. When applied in concentrator PV, a very small cell is used with a Fresnel lens, which concentrates the sunlight onto the cell. The new record efficiency was measured at a concentration of 508 suns and has been confirmed by the Japanese AIST (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology), one of the leading centres for independent verification of solar cell performance under standard testing conditions.

 

new solar cell record
© Fraunhofer ISE/Photo Alexander Wekkeli

 

A special challenge that had to be met by this cell was the exact distribution of photons among the four sub-cells. It was achieved by precise tuning of the composition and thicknesses of each layer inside the structure. “This is a major milestone for our French-German collaboration. We are extremely pleased to hear that our result of 46% efficiency has now been independently confirmed by AIST in Japan,” explains Dr. Frank Dimroth, project manager for the cell development at the German Fraunhofer Institute. “CPV is the most efficient solar technology today and suitable for all countries with high direct normal irradiance.”

Jocelyne Wasselin, Vice President at Soitec in France: “We are very proud of this new world record. It confirms we made the right technology choice when we decided to develop this four-junction solar cell and clearly indicates that we can demonstrate 50% efficiency in the near future. To produce this new generation of solar cells, we have already installed a line in France. It uses our bonding and layer-transfer technologies and already employs more than 25 engineers and technicians. I have no doubt that this successful cooperation with our French and German partners will drive further increase of CPV technology efficiency and competitiveness.”

 

Comments »

 

 

 
 

 

Comments

 

 

 

 

⇡  Back to top  ⇡

Next »