Technology and R&D

Solar3D, Inc., developer of a three-dimensional solar cell technology, has announced that simulated tests on its new cell design, have indicated that conversion efficiencies of over 25 percent are achievable.

Just over a week after Imec and Kaneka announced they had developed a silver-free heterojunction silicon solar cell, Germany-based Scott Solar says it has produced a cell using copper contacts, instead of the precious metal. The company has also closed a cell production facility.

SunPower has been chosen to supply its photovoltaic cells to Solar Impulse’s new solar airplane, HB-SIB, which will attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 2014.

Roth & Rau AG says it has reached a new milestone, having achieved 21 percent efficiency on a 156 mm wafer. The company expects the heterojunction technology to be ready for mass production “in the near future”.

Imec and Kaneka have developed a silver-free heterojunction silicon solar cell, with a conversion efficiency of over 21 percent. Imec speaks to pv magazine about the achievement and states that the use of copper in commercial cell production could come sooner than many think.

Proving its thin film prowess, First Solar has announced its cumulative photovoltaic module production has reached five gigawatts (GW). It is the second solar company in the world to do so.

Würth Solar will hand over its CIGS production line, located in Schwäbisch Hall, Germany, to Manz AG, in order to focus on the sales side of its photovoltaic business. Production capacity will be more than halved.

A spatial concept from Spain won this year’s Bauhaus Solar Award 2011 in Erfurt, Germany. Second prize, meanwhile, was awarded to two students from Munich.

A new €5 million, three-year smart grid project has been unveiled in Austria. Designed to prepare for the expected “onslaught” of new solar capacity in the country, the pilot project will see 120 photovoltaic systems installed. pv magazine gets the low down.

Sharp Corporation has achieved what it says is the highest silicon solar cell conversion efficiency globally. At 36.9 percent, the company says the results have been confirmed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.