A new solar cell record has been established by Spectrolab, a solely-owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company, which has been independently verified by the US Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado (US). The new record surpasses the previous record of 41.1% held by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany.
High-efficiency solar cells in concentrator systems require fewer cells to produce the same electrical output as conventional solar cells. They enable energy producers to generate more electrical power from typical industrial solar panels and pass on lower costs to homeowners, businesses and other end users.
"This latest record asserts Spectrolab's leadership position in high efficiency multi-junction solar cells and brings the industry one step closer to achieving affordable solar electricity," said David Lillington, president of Spectrolab. "This cell is an advanced version of our lattice-matched cell technology that will be incorporated quickly and successfully into our production line. This milestone underscores our emphasis on realizing the highest efficiency cells in high-volume production."
Produced in February 2008, the new Spectrolab cell is an advanced version of the lattice-matched triple-junction technology already produced in high volumes for space and terrestrial applications at Spectrolab, which pioneered the technology more than a decade ago. The new cell incorporates multiple improvements in wafer processing to reduce metal grid shadowing and series resistance, raising the cell's overall efficiency for conversion of sunlight to electricity.
"Over the past decade, Spectrolab's efforts developing terrestrial solar cell efficiency have achieved an average improvement of approximately one percentage point per year, and we expect to continue that pace," added Lillington.
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