Solar Panel Breakthrough Could Almost Double The Efficiency Of Today's Panels

Researchers at the Institut de Ciències Fotòniques (ICFO) in Spain have proposed a new solar panel design that targets Boltzmann loss—energy lost to light emitted by the panels—rather than heat loss, which has been the focus of most prior efficiency research. The approach could raise the theoretical efficiency ceiling from the 33.16 percent Shockley-Queisser limit to roughly 43 percent, well above the 20 to 23 percent at which consumer panels typically perform. The finding matters because even modest gains at the theoretical level can eventually translate into more output from residential and plug-in balcony solar installations as adoption grows. It follows Chinese manufacturer LONGi's July unveiling of a 35.5 percent efficient solar cell, which the company said is theoretically capable of reaching 43 percent as well. What to watch next is whether the ICFO design can be fabricated at commercial scale and cost, since the research has not yet reached consumer products.