Qcells claims that a new technology could reduce the space required for solar panels

Hanwha Corp.'s Qcells announced on Wednesday that it had made a significant breakthrough in a new solar technology. This has the potential of reducing the space needed by panels to generate electricity from the sun's light.

The solar industry is facing a number of pressing challenges, including the need for more space. In some areas of the United States, large-scale projects that occupy vast tracts of land are being met with opposition.

Qcells announced that it had achieved a record in the world for the efficiency and cost of large-area silicon cells with perovskite as the top layer. Perovskite is a material with a crystallized structure which absorbs a lot of light. The potential of the technology could shrink projects dramatically and reduce costs.

Danielle Merfeld is the chief technology officer at Qcells. She said that installing solar panels requires less work.

Qcells, a large solar manufacturer, is developing perovskite-based technology to take advantage of this opportunity.

In an interview, Joseph Berry, the director of perovskite-related research at U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory said, "It's like a small arms race."

Qcells has achieved a cell efficiency of 28,6% using its technology on a large, commercial-sized M10 cell. This sets the stage for mass production in the future.

China's Longi achieved efficiency breakthroughs above 30% in the last few months, but with smaller cells. Oxford PV in Britain has announced that it has set an efficiency record of 26.9% for perovskite/silicon panels. This level would produce around 20% more energy than traditional panels.

According to NREL, this compares with 27% for crystalline silicon panels and 21% for commercial silicon solar cells.

Cell efficiency is the percentage of solar power that hits a device and is converted to usable electricity.

The so-called tandem silicon and perovskite cells are more efficient, but they still need to prove they can reliably produce power for many years by undergoing at least one or two years of field testing.

Merfeld stated, "Now is the time to begin building the case of the reliability and the newness of this technology." Customers won't adopt the technology until they are convinced that it is feasible.

Qcells reported that the record-breaking solar cell was manufactured at Qcells research and development facility in Germany. Its efficiency was also verified by Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (a German solar energy research organization). (Reporting and editing by Nichola Feast; reporting by Nichola Froom)

(source: Reuters)