The world record was a result of a joint effort between multi-crystalline solar wafer manufacturer REC and ECN, which was responsible for producing the cells and assembling the world record solar panel.
"We are pleased that our efforts in wafer technology development have allowed us to achieve this world record. Our previous joint REC/ECN record measurement was at 16.4 percent efficiency, and significant effort has gone in to reaching the 17 percent milestone", says REC’s SVP and CTO, Erik Sauar.
The record breaking cells came from REC’s latest wafer production lines in Norway, which produces wafers with very low levels of impurities and dislocation densities using REC's latest generation wafer furnaces.
"Reaching the 17% milestone has been a challenge to researchers for many years. The fact that ECN and REC now break this shows the enormous progress made in solar energy technology", says Chief Editor of Progress in Photovoltaics, Martin Green.
The performance measurement result was recently officially confirmed by European Solar Test Installation (ESTI) under Standard Test Conditions and represents aperture area efficiency.
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