Sharp has set a new world record for solar cell efficiency, creating a solar cell that converts 44.4 percent of sunlight to electricity.
The breakthrough is from a concentrator triple-junction compound solar cell, which is used in concentrating systems where sunlight is focused on the cells with lenses.This new cell has three layers that absorb light.
The record was confirmed at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, and beats the old record of 44 percent efficiency set by Solar Junction last year.
Up until now, these kinds of cells have been used mainly on satellites in space, but according to an official statement, “Sharp aims to harness this latest development success and make the use of compound solar cells more feasible in terrestrial applications.”
Credit: Sharp
Read more about the new record at Sharp’s website.
