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High PV cell and module efficiencies targeted by Yingli research group

Collaborative research between Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited, the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) and Amtech Systems Inc. has resulted in laboratory efficiencies of 19.7 percent and 17.6 percent for a crystalline photovoltaic cell and module, respectively.

Yingli is looking to increase its photovoltaic module efficiencies. Image: Yingli.

The project, which has been looking at N-type Metal Wrap Through (N-MWT) cell and module technology, is an extension of Yingli’s Project PANDA, which began in 2009.

Overall, says Yingli, the N-MWT cell technology is expected to reduce metal coverage by up to 40 percent in comparison to standard crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells. This, says the manufacturer, will lead to relative cell efficiency gains of around 1.5 percent.

In a statement released, it was said, "ECN has also shown that the PV modules based on N-MWT technology can be made with thin cells at high yield, which demonstrates the potential to reduce the wafer thickness and silicon consumption, leading to a large cost reduction potential."

Jingfeng Xiong, Vice President of Technology at Yingli added, "Together this joint project, we target to reach towards 20 percent cell efficiency and module efficiencies of 18 percent and more."