New material could increase solar cell efficiency
Researchers who are trying to boost the efficiency of solar devices made a recent breakthrough that could improve solar cell performance drastically.
The breakthrough isn’t in the form of a new material to replace silicone — which is currently used in most solar cells — but rather comes through a combination of silicon with a new material.
The promising class of materials, called perovskites, can combine with conventional silicon cells with a to ultimately boost the efficiency of the solar cell by several percentage points.
Promising Solar Material Could Upgrade Silicon Cells https://t.co/Ta98ihLSGA
— MIT Tech Review (@techreview) January 7, 2016
Improvements in solar cell efficiency
Right now, even the most efficient solar cells have an efficiency of approximately 17 to 20 percent. Late in 2015, SolarCity touted the most efficient rooftop solar in the world, only to be trumped by Panasonic just days later. Both SolarCity and Panasonic claimed efficiencies of 22 percent or more.
With the new breakthrough tied to perovskites, researchers say that a combined silicon-perovskite “tandem” device could top 25 percent efficiency. This potential increase up to 25 percent efficiency would be a major leap in even the reported efficiency of available devices. They also say that it’s not “unrealistic to think 28 or even 30 percent efficiency is possible within just a few years.”
Perovskite questions remain
Perovskite’s sensitivity to moisture and air and overall durability are still question marks, but, nonetheless, researchers say that a commercial product—aimed at silicon panel manufacturers could be ready in 2017.
Source → MIT Tech Review
