Taiwan has developed next-generation solar cell components that would boost solar-cell efficiency by more than 31 percent, Academia Sinica said yesterday.
Boosting solar-cell efficiency is key in developing solar energy in the nation, given the limited space available to install solar panels, the institute said in a statement.
Currently, the highest light-to-electricity conversion efficiency achieved by silicon solar cells is about 22 to 24 percent, the institute said, adding that it is nearly impossible to increase efficiency by 30 percent with silicon solar cells alone.
Photo courtesy of Academia Sinica
However, perovskite films can be combined with silicon solar cells to form stacked perovskite/silicon solar cells to improve light-to-electricity conversion efficiency, it said.
The institute formed a research group to develop perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells after Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智) finalized the decision, with its own researchers being joined by those from National Cheng Kung University, National Tsing Hua University and Ming Chi University of Technology, it said.
The research team succeeded in creating perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells in two years, boosting the light-electricity conversion efficiency to more than 31 percent, Liao said.
Photo courtesy fo the Academia Sinica via CNA
“The efficiency is more than 30 percent higher than solar cell products currently on the market. Compared with the solar power generation devices deployed in the early years, the efficiency has increased by nearly 50 percent. Power generation can be increased without increasing the properties required to develop solar energy,” he said.
Silicon solar cell modules can only absorb part of the wavelength of sunlight, resulting in limited conversion efficiency. Tandem solar cells use the upper layer of perovskite to absorb photons that cannot be absorbed by silicon crystal, and the remaining photons are absorbed by the lower layer of silicon crystal, thereby increasing the conversion efficiency, the institute said.
The research team has broken through several key connection layer technologies, successfully laminated perovskite films on silicon cells and reduced interface losses, thus completing the production of small-area two-terminal cell components. The light-electricity conversion efficiency has reached 31.5 percent, the institute said.
There is sufficient supply of materials to produce perovskite/silicon solar cells, which can be manufactured at lower costs, run efficiently and are recyclable, the team said.
“The result shows that Taiwan has the ability to produce perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells, which also have a high potential to be commercialized,” the team said.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RSS