The Fraunhofer ISE CalLab of Germany certified the photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 22.71 percent of LONGi Green Energy Technology Co.’s monocrystalline PERC cell, which is a new world record for this cell type. As the industry’s leading manufacturer of high efficient monocrystalline products, LONGi has always been committed to the improvement ofRead More

PLANT PV, a photovoltaic materials innovator, sent word about a breakthrough that enables solar cell manufacturers to capture greater solar cell power output and with no added investment cost for cell producers. “For 20 years the industry has had to accept an efficiency loss from printing silver bus bars directlyRead More

Feels like its been awhile since a module manufacturer touted an efficiency record. The wait is over: Trina Solar Limited announced that its State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology of China set a new world conversion efficiency record of 22.61 percent for a high-efficiency p-type mono-crystalline silicon (c-Si)Read More

So, get this: Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE together with the Austrian company EV Group (EVG) say they have successfully manufactured a silicon-based multi-junction solar cell with two contacts and an efficiency exceeding the theoretical limit of silicon solar cells. Tell me more! For thisRead More

Natcore Technology Inc. has achieved commercial-level efficiencies for its laser-processed solar cells. This refinement of Natcore’s all-back-contact silicon cell structure, which utilizes low-cost aluminum instead of high-cost silver, has progressed rapidly. Less than 11 months ago, early proof-of-concept cells were delivering 4 percent efficiencies. Today, the cells have already reached efficienciesRead More

MegaCell is an innovative Italian-based photovoltaic bi-facial high-efficiency cell and module manufacturer, part of Mega Group, which was recently established by Franco Traverso. Traverso is considered a pioneer of the Italian photovoltaic cells technology, given his extended experience of more than 30 years in photovoltaic (PV) sector since 1981, whenRead More

The latest update in the solar panel efficiency showdown: Trina Solar Limited reports that its State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology of China has set a new world record for a high-efficiency p-type multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cell. The record-breaking p-type multi-crystalline silicon solar cell was fabricated onRead More

As part of a wide-ranging clean energy initiative by the administration, President Obama and Energy Secretary Moniz announced at the Clean Energy Summit $24 million in innovation funding for 11 new solar technologies, as part of ARPA-E’s newest program Micro-scale Optimized Solar-cell Arrays with Integrated Concentration (MOSAIC). These MOSAIC projectsRead More

Perovskite solar cells have shown potential both in the rapid efficiency improvement and in cheap material and manufacturing costs, says IDTechEx. Just how rapid of an efficiency improvement? Perovskite cells went from 2.2% in 2006 to the latest record 20.1% in 2014. They have attracted attention from the likes of DSSC and OPVsRead More