Solar cell efficiency work picks up

To address demand for new turnkey solutions in the equipment intensive photovoltaic (PV) industry, Oulu, Finland-based optoelectronics materials company Braggone said this week it is working with Beneq on a turnkey ‘solution’ meant to increase solar cell efficiency and meant to allow solar manufacturers to cut selected manufacturing costs by 50%, while increasing relative device quantum efficiencies by as much as 5%.

Braggone also recently announced a new product line that is meant to increase the efficiency of solar cells and allow manufacturing facilities to cost-effectively increase capacity.

In other solar news, GE Global Research (the centralized research organization of the General Electric Co) said that scientists on their nano photovoltaics (PV) team have demonstrated a scalable silicon nanowire-based solar cell, which has the potential to achieve up to 18% efficiency and be produced at a dramatically lower cost than conventional solar cells. This demonstration represents a promising development in the effort to make PV systems more economically viable for consumers, the company said.

GE reported its development recently in the journal, Applied Physics Letters, which can be accessed here. 

The paper also was featured in the Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology, which highlights the latest research in nanotechnology from various science journals.