Tandem solar cell efficiency, 3SUN breaks down the 28,4% wall
2023 confirms itself as a record year for our tandem technology. At the end of the year, we've achieved a new efficiency primacy, certified and reached in partnership with the CEA team at INES
In our constant commitment toward a reduction of the dependency from fossil fuel and against climate change, solar systems hold a leading position and allow generating energy in an increasingly clean and sustainable manner. This revolution revolves around a continuous research to make PV technology more and more performing, and capable of transforming a higher percentage of sunlight into energy.
A record technology
The technological evolution path, that sees us at the forefront with our Gigafactory, helped us break a new efficiency record for our Tandem technology, comprising two silica and perovskite cells stacked on top of one another, capable of reaching increasingly high efficiency levels. After a record-breaking year, with the 26.5% announced in March and the latest 27.1% record recorded in June, alongside the CEA team, we've managed to raise the power conversion efficiency levels to 28,4% on a 9 square centimetres cell. A goal that has been certified by the European Solar Test Installation (ESTI) of the Commission's Joint Research Center (JRC) with a conversion efficiency of 24.4 percent, the equivalent to 28.4 percent with shading correction.
Moreover, the area of our record cell is an important parameter to highlight, since the majority of efficiency records published internationally concern 1 square cm cells. Working, together with the CEA, on larger areas, proves that this promising technology can be industrialized shortly.
Our technological roadmap
Here at 3SUN, research, development and innovation are in our company's DNA. This is why we strive to create an increasingly efficient PV technology to produce the best-performing photovoltaic products. In this spirit, we've drawn a technological roadmap that will help us, on one side, to increase the HJT technology (which already achieves efficiency levels higher than 25%) performance and sustainability, and, on the other side, to develop the new Tandem technology, which, through stacked silica and perovskite cells, can reach even higher cell efficiency levels, by over 30%.
A crucial step in a journey that began a long time ago, and that, at the beginning of 2020, through HJT cells, had allowed us to raise the reference standards, by recording the world record, with a 24.63% efficiency for a HJT cell.
The road toward new records
Those are important data, if we consider that traditional silicon cells have a theoretical efficiency limit of 28-29%, and an actual limit (very hard to achieve) of 26-27%. With the Tandem technology, we want to surpass ourselves and change the future of PV systems.
All this within the context of the largest factory in Europe for the production of high-performing PV cells and modules. A Gigafactory that will bring along a quality and quantity leap, contributing to the important energy transition goals, toward a more sustainable energy generation system, for a cleaner, more efficient future.