Thursday, November 21, 2013: While converting solar energy into electricity, every per cent makes a difference. In the latest development, Spectrolab, which had created the world record of developing solar cells with an efficiency of 37.8 per cent has broken its own record by a percent.
This sister concern of Boeing has come up with a new ground-based multi-junction solar cell, which offers the efficiency of 38.8 per cent. It is worth noting that the solar efficiency of about 44 per cent has been achieved by using lens-based system, that concentrates solar rays on the triple-junction compound solar cells.
According to a statement by the company, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., verified the new record, which beats Spectrolab’s own previous world record by 1 per cent. “Improving solar cell manufacturing technology is at the core of what we do at Spectrolab,” said Spectrolab President Troy Dawson. “We will continue to innovate new ways to achieve even better results.”
The statement reads, “Spectrolab manufactured the high-efficiency multi-junction solar cell, which was developed from new Boeing semiconductor bonding technology. This solar cell technology could be used to power high-power spacecraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. Spectrolab, part of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, is the world’s leading merchant supplier of high-efficiency multi-junction solar cells and panels for concentrated photovoltaic and spacecraft power systems, in addition to being the world’s leading provider of airborne searchlights.”
