The Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell (PERC) structure offers a 1% efficiency boost (absolute) and improves the current state-of-the-art by integrating a high-efficiency rear surface design. The PERC design has […]
Tag: solar cell efficiency
Quiet innovations keeping screen printed solar cells on top
For all the well-deserved hype surrounding advanced solar cell designs, the screen printed (SP) solar cell remains the industry standard. Accounting for approximately 90% of worldwide production in 2014, its […]
Two world records over 40% add up to a great week for solar!
Two separate research projects from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Soitec have set world records of over 40% solar cell efficiencies in the past week. The UNSW […]
UNSW solar pioneer Prof Martin Green foresees PV as #1 energy source globally by 2050
A world-leading Australian solar PV researcher has predicted that the cost of photovoltaic technology will fall by another 50 per cent over the next decade, making it a game-changing energy […]
UNSW’s ‘stacked’ silicon-perovskite technology promises to double solar cell efficiency
An innovative solar project being developed by researchers at the University of New South Wales is aiming to more than double the efficiency of solar cells. The project, headed up […]
Record efficiency for UCLA ‘plastic’ tandem solar cell
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have set a new record for organic polymer solar cells, with a device efficiency of 11.5%. The record-breaking ‘plastic’ solar cell […]
Perovskites: The next PV revolution?
Perovskites have taken the PV research world by storm in recent years thanks to unprecedented growth in efficiency in the material. Perovskite solar cell efficiencies have gone from a barely […]
‘Two-for-one’ deal on electrons to boost solar cell efficiency
Research conducted by the University of California (UC) – Riverside proposes an innovative method for pushing commercial solar cell efficiencies past 30%. The process, known as ‘singlet fission’, allows for […]
Researchers develop new antireflective coating that improves module efficiency by 4%
Researchers at UK’s Loughborough University have developed a new multi-layer anti-reflection (AR) coating for solar panels that simultaneously reduces reflection and improves module efficiency. The AR coating developed at the […]
Panasonic breaks silicon efficiency record after 15 years with a 25.6% efficient HIT cell
After a run of nearly 15 years, the record efficiency for silicon solar cells was finally broken last week. Panasonic Corporation announced last Thursday (10 April 2014) that it has […]
Solar Frontier achieves record 20.9% cell efficiency on thin-film CIS
Solar Frontier, Japanese thin-film PV manufacturer has announced a new world record efficiency of 20.9% on copper, indium, selenium (CIS) cell, besting the previous world record of 20.8% for thin-film […]
Researchers create colourful solar cells using hybrid organic-inorganic PV technology
Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a new, eye-catching transparent photovoltaic cell using a novel mixture of organic and inorganic materials, thereby bringing colourful photovoltaics one step closer […]
Khosla-backed Stion delivers 20% module efficiency with novel tandem technology
If the recent trail of new innovations is any clue, the race to find a new champion to boost the fortunes of thin film solar has never been more intense. […]
Trina Solar and ANU announce highest efficiency yet for rear-contact PV cells
A long-term, multi-national research effort driven by Trina Solar has finally paid dividends, with the company announcing the development of a 24.4% efficient, all-rear contact silicon solar cell design that […]
FirstSolar’s CdTe thin-film 20.4% record cell efficiency now on par with multi-crystalline Silicon
First Solar announced a new world record for cadmium-telluride (CdTe) solar cell efficiency – 20.4%, a figure confirmed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The new efficiency now matches […]
New research suggests roadmap for more efficient organic solar cells
A joint US-Belgian, multi-university research effort has shed light into the fundamentals of a key efficiency-boosting mechanism in organic solar cells. Researchers from Pennsylvania State University in collaboration with IMEC, […]
A breath of fresh air for CIGS: Siva Power’s 18.8% efficient cell
Siva Power, known as Solexant Corp until November last year, has announced a new high efficiency for the thin-film copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) PV technology it has been developing. The 18.8% efficiency […]
Metallisation paste advances boost efficiencies for REC modules
Singapore-based REC Solar and DuPont Microcircuit Materials, a key developer of metal pastes for the PV industry, have recently announced that DuPont’s new ‘Solamet PV18x’ series of metallisation pastes have […]
