Jan. 14, 2015: NREL Demonstrates 45.7 Percent Efficiency for New Solar Cell
Ultra-Efficient Cell Pushes the Limits of Solar Conversion
GOLDEN, Colo. — The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has announced the demonstration of a 45.7 percent conversion efficiency for a four-junction solar cell at 234 suns concentration. NREL said this is one of the highest photovoltaic research cell efficiencies achieved across all types of solar cells.
The new solar cell, which is designed for operation in a concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) system where it can receive more than 1,000 suns of concentrated sunlight, greatly improves earlier designs by incorporating an additional high quality absorber layer to achieve an ultra-high efficiency.