Sanyo Solar Panels
Reach New Efficiency Record

The previous efficiency rate of practical sized solar cells was 22.3%. Sanyo has managed to up this to 23% in the laboratory. This in itself does not sound like a big deal, but the implications of their work should be large. While many researchers have found ways to increase cell efficiency, these have hardly ever been practical in terms of improving mass produced cheap solar panels and therefore reducing the cost of solar energy in the long term.

In its news release, Sanyo stated their intention to press ahead with efforts to reduce the materials required for their solar panels and continue research into ways to manufacture the cells more efficiently. Both these factors will help drive down the cost of quality solar panels over time.

How Did They Do It?

All solar cells that use crystalline Silicon to generate electricity and this is still the case for Sanyo's new improved variety. They have managed to improve efficiency in two ways. First, they have managed to add the extra layers of material that make up the solar cell onto this silicon layer without damaging the layer as much as with previous methods. This means they can use a thinner layer of Silicon than before, which drives production costs down.

The second advance has been to reduce the amount of light absorbed by other non-silicon parts of the solar cell. Absorption occurs at every surface, so by reducing the amount of energy lost at both the protective cover of the cell and the layer above the silicon, more light gets through to be converted to electricity.

More Information

For all the technical details about this development see the Sanyo website.

28 May 2009

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