New World Record Efficiency with Flexible CIGS Solar Cell
illi News/10032561

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - illiNews -- Only nine months after the presentation of the first record-breaking flexible solar cell, USA-based MiaSolé Hi-Tech Corp and European Solliance Solar Research have established a new world record power conversion efficiency of 23% on a flexible solar cell. The solar cell combines two thin-film solar cell technologies into a tandem solar cell stack: a top flexible semi-transparent perovskite solar cell with a bottom flexible copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) cell.

The perovskite solar cell was deposited on a transparent and flexible substrate, employed transparent conductive electrodes, and was optimized for maximum visible light conversion efficiency and infrared light transparency to allow the maximum infrared light to reach the bottom MiaSolé CIGS cell.

The CIGS cell was made on a commercially available high efficiency flexible solar cell technology fabricated on ultra-thin stainless-steel foil using MiaSolé's proprietary high throughput roll-to-cell manufacturing system. Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has independently confirmed a 20.56% cell efficiency for a MiaSolé thin-film solar cell (0.86cm²). Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) has independently confirmed a world record of 17.44% module efficiency on a commercial size flexible PV module (aperture area 1.08m²) produced in MiaSolé's production line.

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"A highly efficient flexible hybrid solar cell is an outlook on how perovskite solar cell technology can innovate the established solar technology, leading to a different application area with improved performance," according to Sjoerd Veenstra, Program Manager for Perovskite-based Solar Cells at Solliance. "Further improvements in spectral matching as well as overall higher CIGS cell efficiency are expected to push the tandem architecture well beyond 23%," adds Dr. Dmitry Poplavskyy, Director of Technology at MiaSolé.

"As production efficiency of thin film solar quickly catching up to that of the crystalline solar technologies, the flexible nature of MiaSolé's total solution will enable more innovations like this breakthrough achieved by partnering with Solliance. Solar energy enables energy independence, but it's never an independent effort. MiaSolé is committed to global partnerships and our mission to change the world with thin film solar," added Dr. Jie Zhang, CEO of MiaSolé.

About MiaSolé

MiaSolé Hi-Tech Corp, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hanergy, is a total solution provider of flexible thin film solar technology. The innovative CIGS solar cell architecture makes it ideal for a wide variety of applications such as Building Integrated Photovoltaics and portable mobile energy devices. MiaSolé's proprietary turnkey thin film solar equipment lines, CIGS process technologies, CIG sputtering target technologies, advanced automation and spare parts services provide customers everything they need to produce their own high-efficiency solar products. Founded in 2004, MiaSolé has evolved into the world leader in thin-film solar module efficiency and offers the world largest commercially available flexible shatterproof solar panels up to 540w/piece at weight 2.2 kg/m². For more information on MiaSolé, please visit http://www.miasole.com/.

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About Solliance Solar Research

Solliance is a public-private partnership of companies, R&D institutes and universities from the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, working in thin film photovoltaic solar energy and led by imec and TNO. In order to strengthen the region's position as a world player in PV, Solliance is creating the required synergy by consolidating and coordinating the activities of 250 researchers in industry, at research institutes and universities.

Various state-of-the-art laboratories and pilot production lines are jointly used for dedicated research programs which are executed in close cooperation with the solar business community.

Solliance offers participation in its research programs and opens up its lab facilities to new entrants, either from industry or in research. On the basis of clear Intellectual Property (IP) agreements, each industrial partner can participate in this research effort, or alternatively, hire equipment and experts to further develop its own technology.