A new world record for converting sunlight into electricity has been set by researchers at Longi, the world’s largest solar panel manufacturer. The team achieved a 34.6% power conversion efficiency using a tandem perovskite-silicon solar cell, beating the previous record by 0.7%. This is more than 7% more efficient than the record for a standard silicon solar cell, which is found in most commercial solar panels.
Perovskite has been hailed as a “miracle material” due to its potential to significantly improve everything from batteries to telecommunications and renewable energy. With current silicon solar panels reaching their physical limits, researchers are now looking to next-generation tandem cells to better harness the Sun’s energy. Perovskite-silicon cells have a theoretical efficiency limit of 43%, far exceeding the 29% limit of standard silicon cells.
The latest record follows a series of breakthroughs from China-based Longi, having broken the world record for solar cell efficiency 16 times over the past three years. The company announced this achievement at the 17th International Solar Photovoltaic and Smart Energy Conference (SNEC) in Shanghai, China, alongside a new “landmark” agreement to transform global energy by partnering with Saudi energy firm ACWA Power.
Longi said in a statement that they achieved the new record by optimizing the thin film deposition process of the electron transport layer, developing and using high-efficiency defect passivation materials, and designing high-quality interfacial passivation structures. No further details were given about this process or how it led to such an impressive increase in efficiency. However, it is clear that this breakthrough marks a significant step forward in our efforts to transition towards renewable energy sources on a global scale.