First Solar has set a new world record for cadmium-telluride (CdTe) PV research cell conversion efficiency, with a 21.0 percent efficiency achieved and certified by Newport Corporation’s Technology and Applications Center (TAC) PV Lab.
The particular cell was manufactured at the company’s Perrysburg, Ohio manufacturing factory and Research & Development Center, using commercial-scale manufacturing process and material design.
Best Research Cell Efficiencies reference chart has documented the record in U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
In 2014, First Solar has set the previous CdTe record of 20.4 percent conversion efficiency and upholds the seventh substantial update to CdTe record efficiency since 2011.
This achievement positions First Solar’s CdTe research cell efficiency above copper indium gallium diselenide solar cells (CIGS) at 20.9 percent and multicrystalline silicon (mSi), which was high at 20.4 percent in 2004.
First Solar is proving a rapid method to industry-leading energy masses with the improvement of manufacturing metrics while competing technologies are using costly materials and cell processes to deliver moderate performance gains, noted, Raffi Garabedian, CTO, First Solar.
Recently, First Solar submitted a technology roadmap expecting a 22 percent research cell efficiency milestone in 2015.
First Solar has transferred its achievement to the R&D lab into its commercially produced modules, increasing its average production module efficiency to 14.0 percent in the Q2 of 2014, up 0.5 percent from the Q1, and up 0.7 percent from FY2013.
The company’s prime line was manufacturing modules with 14.1 percent average efficiency by Q2 of 2014.