Scientists set new solar panel efficiency record

By Matthew Griffin Earth and Energy 24th March 2017

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Solar power is now coming of age and every innovation, and every breakthrough only helps to accelerate its adoption.

Turning sunlight, which is basically photons, into electricity, electrons, is a surprisingly tricky thing. While there have been experiments that have created solar arrays that can capture up to 40 percent of the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity, as well as solar panels that produce energy from rain, consumer solar panels are often significantly less efficient than their more specialised, and more expensive cousins.

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According to experts even the best silicon based solar power technology, which is the mainstay of the consumer industry, should have a theoretical limit of 29 percent efficiency, which means that any consumer panel that can hit the low twenties is doing pretty well.

Nevertheless, we’re inching ever closer to that theoretical limit, and now, researchers at Kaneko Corporation have announced that they’ve developed a silicon solar cell with a record breaking 26.3 percent efficiency rating.

The score is only just barely higher than the previous record of 25.6, but that 0.7 percent gain was no easy feat. The researchers had to analyse the limitations of today’s solar cell designs and find new ways to overcome them. In the end the researchers decided that reducing the amount of optical loss was the best path forward so moved the lower resistance electrodes to the back of the solar cell in order to increase the amount of photons it could capture.

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Ultimately, as this, and other improvements find their way into new products we’ll see the cost of solar power, which is already the cheapest form of energy in 58 countries, fall even further. All of which will help to boost adoption, and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Described by NASA as a "Walking Encyclopaedia of the Future" and one of the world’s most in demand keynote speakers Matthew Griffin, Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm, is a multi-award winning Futurist and strategic foresight expert, author, lecturer, mentor, podcast and YouTube host.

With a distinguished career running global business units at Atos, EMC, and IBM today Matthew helps leaders and titans of industry from all over the world explore the impact of the inter sections of technology, culture, and leadership, then helps them create high performance organisations that can continuously disrupt, outpace, and outthink their competition.

15 times author of the hit series the Codex of the Future series Matthew's ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders across the G7, G20, and G77, and many of the world's most recognised and exceptional organisations including ABB, Accenture, ABN Amro, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Dentons, Disney, Dow, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Microsoft, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Nokia, Paramount, PepsiCo, PWC, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, Visa, WIRED, WPP and hundreds of others.

Matthew is regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, and his mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.