Ny solcellsteknik genererar mycket mer elektricitet från varje solpanel

Vad händer

Ett genombrott har skett detta år för solcellstekniken och nya tandemsolceller kan producera elektricitet med över 30 procents effektivitet, en gräns många trodde var omöjlig att nå.

Kontext

Konceptet går ut på att lägga ett halvledarlager perovskit ovanpå lagret med kisel vilket fångar blått ljus från det synliga spektrat samtidigt som kisel fångar rött ljus och tillsammans ökar den totala mängden ljus som kan användas.

The perovskite-silicon “tandem” cells have been under research for about a decade, but recent technical improvements have now pushed them past the 30% milestone. Experts said that if the scaling-up of production of the tandem cells proceeds smoothly, they could be commercially available within five years, about the same time silicon-only cells reach their maximum efficiency.

The Guardian: ‘Revolutionary’ solar power cell innovations break key energy threshold

Nyckeln till tandemcellernas högre effektivitet var små defekter på perovskitlagrets yta som lät elektroner röra sig tillbaka in istället för att bidra till strömmen med elektricitet.

The solution was to put a layer of organic molecules between the perovskite and the conducting layer through which the current flows, which compensated for the defects.

Significantly, all the groups used different methods to address the problem, giving more options in the search for the best commercial design, said De Wolf. “There’s still lots of room to go further,” he said. “I believe that the practical limit is well beyond 35%.”

The Guardian: ‘Revolutionary’ solar power cell innovations break key energy threshold

Vad har det för betydelse

När varje cell absorberar mer energi sjunker kostnaden vilket accelerar etableringen av solenergi.

Prof Rob Gross, director of the UK Energy Research Centre, said: “Solar is already a low-cost way to generate electricity and has a wide resource base across the world. The cost reductions already achieved are the main reason solar now plays such a large role in scenarios of decarbonised energy systems. Improvements in efficiency have the potential to increase the output of solar and therefore will help to reinforce that effect.”

The Guardian: ‘Revolutionary’ solar power cell innovations break key energy threshold

I nyheterna

• The Guardian: ‘Revolutionary’ solar power cell innovations break key energy threshold
• Bildkälla: Perovskitceller