Photovoltaic news and pv jobs

Sanyo 21.6 percent cell efficiency not independently verified, but company confident

Last Friday, Sanyo announced that it had achieved the world’s highest cell conversion efficiency at 21.6 percent. However, responding to questions from pv magazine, the efficiency has not been independently verified and there are no plans for outside testing.

The new cell sees the adoption of a new tab design and anti-reflection coated glass. Image: Sanyo.

A Sanyo spokesperson said the company is nevertheless positive about the efficiency. They commented: “We are confident of the efficiency levels, because our internal testing is much stricter than other companies. Sanyo has always remained at the top of the efficiency race and our high conversion efficiency is one of the strongest points of our product. This is why we have stricter internal standards and why we are confident in our own ability to classify the efficiency.”

According to Sanyo, its new HIT N Series 240W crystalline-based photovoltaics (PV) module has also achieved the greatest efficiency of any other module on the market, at 19 percent. Currently undergoing commercialization, it is scheduled to be on sale in Europe from early next year.

While the company declined to divulge initial production capacity, it did tell pv magazine that the product will be manufactured in its factory in Hungary, which is currently undergoing a capacity expansion to 315 megawatts.