|
Nanotech Breakthrough Sets World
Record For Solar Cell Efficiency
By Brian Westenhaus - Oct 25, 2022
-
In a new
Nature Nanotechnology paper, scientists say they’ve cleared 31%
efficiency in solar cells.
-
The new
technology uses nanooptical structuring and reflecting coatings to
boost efficiency.
-
The new
development has set a world record.
Tandem solar cells made of perovskite
and silicon enable significantly higher efficiencies than silicon
solar cells alone.
By the
end of 2021, teams at HZB (Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien
und Energiehad) presented perovskite silicon tandem
solar cells
with an efficiency close to 30 percent. This value was a world record
for eight months, a long time for this hotly contested field of
research.
In the journal Nature Nanotechnology,
the scientists described how they achieved the new record value over
31% with nanooptical structuring and reflective coatings.
Tandem
cells from HZB have already achieved several world records. Recently,
in November 2021, HZB research teams achieved a certified efficiency
of 29.8 % with a tandem cell made of perovskite and silicon. This was
an absolute world record that stood unbeaten at the top for eight
months. It was in the summer of 2022 that a Swiss team at EPFL
succeeded in surpassing this value.
The HZB
teams had worked closely together for the record-breaking tandem cell.
After they presented the details in Nature Nanotechnology, the journal
also invited them to write a research briefing to summarize their work
and give an outlook on future developments.
Prof. Dr.
Christiane Becker, who developed the world record cell with the team
led by Dr. Bernd Stannowski (silicon bottom cell) and Prof. Dr. Steve
Albrecht (perovskite top cell) said, “Our competences complement each
other very well.”
Becker’s
team introduced a nanooptical structure into the tandem cell: a gently
corrugated nanotexture on the silicon surface. “Most surprising, this
texture brings several advantages at once: it reduces reflection
losses and ensures a more regular perovskite film formation,”
explained Becker.
Related: Biden Just Put A Floor Under Oil. Will It Work?
In
addition, a dielectric buffer layer on the back of the silicon reduces
parasitic absorption at near-infrared wavelengths.
At the
new record milestone, the researchers assert that customized
nanotextures can help to improve perovskite semiconductor materials on
diverse levels. These results are not only valuable for tandem solar
cells made of perovskite and silicon, but also for perovskite-based
light-emitting diodes.
***
In the
Nature Nanotechnology paper the team is saying they’ve clear 31%
efficiency. For those watching clearing the 30% mark is a milestone.
Congratulations are in order! The light management the team has
accomplished will have an impact on consumer products over time. The
prime question being, “What the cost will be at industrial scale to
build panels?” with the exactness the team is showing in the lab
studies.
This is
good work, as every photon has to pay for solar to stay in the energy
business, and even then the competition is going to be fierce.
There are
hard questions to come. They’ll be about production costs,
environmental concern about building and recycling, lifespan and all
the others, too.
But over
30% is a high efficiency and that gives enthusiasts cause for
confidence.
By Brian
Westenhaus via New Energy and Fuel
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
Spokane, Washington. 99212
www.exactrix.com
509 995 1879 cell, Pacific.
exactrix@exactrix.com
|
