20% solar cell wins award

A solar cell that has broken through the 20% efficiency barrier has won a Collaborative Innovation Award at the Cooperative Research Centres Association conference in Adelaide.

Research was carried out at the ARC Photovoltaic Centre for Excellence where Profs Martin Green and Stuart Wenham worked in collaboration with Suntech-Power to produce the device, which has been named Pluto technology.

They broke through the 20% target which many experts considered impossible and they have lowered the costs compared with other technologies, said Green from The University of NSW.

Martin said they brought their photovoltaic know-how to Suntech. Their manufacturing expertise used new tools and processes to create solar cells 10 times the size of the lab-scale devices.

Suntech-Power’s expertise was particularly important in lowering the costs of the cells by using cheaper processing methods, like laser patterning and replacing expensive silver and titanium parts.

“Without this collaboration and its funding through the Australian Solar Institute, Pluto would have remained a lab prototype rather than a commercial reality,” said Stuart Wenham.

“Pluto is rapidly increasing its market share with many companies around the world looking to replace their existing 30-year-old production technologies.”

International studies predict that the present $100bn/year photovoltaic industry will grow to well over a trillion dollars/year as it becomes the major supplier of the world’s electrical energy needs.

“While many photovoltaic researchers around the world are focused on the holy grail of higher and higher efficiencies, we believe Pluto technology has struck the ideal balance between conversion efficiency and manufacturing costs to create a truly viable alternative means of electricity production right now,” said Green.