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A new world record for the efficiency of converting sunlight into electricity has been set, which researchers claim will provide a major boost to renewable energy.
Researchers at LONGi, the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels, have achieved a power conversion efficiency of 34.6 percent using tandem perovskite silicon solar cells, beating the previous record by 0.7 percentage points.
The new record is more than 7 percent more efficient than the record set by standard silicon solar cells, which are used in most commercially available solar panels.
Perovskites have been hailed as “miracle materials” because of their potential to dramatically improve everything from batteries to communications to renewable energy.
Current silicon solar panels are reaching their physical limits, and researchers are turning to next-generation tandem cells to better harness the sun’s energy.
Perovskite silicon cells have a theoretical efficiency limit of 43%, far exceeding the 29% limit of standard silicon cells.
This latest record follows a series of breakthroughs by China-based Longi, which has broken the world record for solar cell efficiency 16 times in the past three years.
The record was announced at the 17th International Photovoltaic Power and Smart Energy Conference (SNEC) in Shanghai, China, alongside a new “landmark” agreement for global energy transformation in partnership with Saudi Arabian energy company ACWA Power.
In a statement, the company said it achieved the new record through “optimizing the thin-film deposition process of the electron transport layer, developing and using highly efficient defect passivation materials, and designing high-quality interface passivation structures.”
Although details were not disclosed, LONGi is one of several companies currently commercializing the technology.
In the UK, Oxford PV is setting up a production facility in Germany and hopes to fulfil its first customer orders for perovskite-based solar cells this year.