English 
Spanish 
4 min read
0 comments
Researchers in China have developed a revolutionary new solar cell with a conversion efficiency of 26,4%, an unprecedented milestone that promises to transform the solar energy sector and drive technological advances in the segment.
An international team led by researchers from the Institute of Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a new type of high-efficiency solar cell for clean energy generation. China's new perovskite-organic tandem solar cell can achieve a photoelectric conversion of 26,4 percent, the highest efficiency for such solar cells so far, according to Li Yongfang, an academician and researcher at the institute.
Understand the importance of China's new solar cell for the clean energy market
As perovskite solar cells and organic solar cells represent the next generation of solar cells. Compared with the currently widely used crystalline silicon solar cell, this new solar cell from China for clean energy generation offers advantages such as ease of manufacture, light weight and the ability to be applied in flexible devices.
These capabilities represent significant application prospects in areas such as portable clean energy, building-integrated photovoltaics and indoor photovoltaics.
- Surprising breakthrough in solar energy! New molecule stores energy for months, creating a revolutionary solution that enables energy use at night and during winter
- Solar energy in Brazil: How the photovoltaic revolution will create 3,5 million jobs and boost the economy by 2030!
- Solar energy in danger? Pollution and climate change threaten the future of this clean source, triggering a global alert about the environmental impact of the renewable energy sector!
- Mercedes-Benz surprises the world with revolutionary solar paint: innovative technology that can transform cars into energy sources and redefine the future of the automotive sector!
China's new solar cell uses broadband perovskite materials to absorb short-wavelength sunlight and narrowband organic active layer to absorb long-wavelength sunlight in the near-infrared, Li said. He added that this combination significantly expands the usable solar spectrum and effectively increases the clean energy conversion efficiency of the device.
Clean energy market expands significantly and develops new technologies
In addition to this new solar cell from China, called a perovskite-organic tandem, American scientists are developing a cell that is capable of converting direct sunlight into energy with an efficiency of 44,5%. This makes it potentially the most efficient silicon solar cell in the world, at least among those currently available on the market.
Current models only convert electricity with an efficiency of approximately 26% at most. To give you an idea, the most efficient solar cell in Brazil has a 17,3% efficiency.
The impressive product now developed in George Washington University uses concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) panels that employ lenses to concentrate sunlight onto tiny solar cells. The new solar cell acts like a sieve for sunlight, with specialized materials in each layer capable of absorbing the energy.
According to Dr. Matthew Lumb, lead author of the study and a research scientist at the GW School of Engineering and Applied Science, the new device is able to unlock the clean energy stored in long-lived photons that are lost in conventional solar cells and thus provides a path toward realizing the ultimate multi-junction solar cell.
To achieve this, the product uses materials that are typically found in applications for lasers and infrared photodetectors.
New perovskite solar cell from Oxford
One-tenth the thickness of a human hair is the thickness of new perovskite cells being tested in the UK. Their creators believe they will one day cover all types of buildings and objects, eliminating the need for conventional solar panels.
In short, a team of physicists at the University of Oxford have developed an ultra-thin film that can convert sunlight into an impressive amount of clean energy.
The perovskite-based material is so thin and flexible that it can be applied as a coating to virtually any building or everyday object, such as backpacks, cars and cell phones.
Just over a micron thick, the new perovskite cell developed by Shuaifeng Hu and colleagues at Oxford's Department of Physics is 150 times thinner than a silicon wafer.
To make this possible, they invented a new technique that stacks multiple layers of light-absorbing material into a single photovoltaic cell. This way, each cell captures a wider range of the light spectrum.
