Researchers have made a major breakthrough in the manufacture of solar cells by developing a new type that is highly efficient compared to those currently on the market, accelerating the global shift towards renewable energies rapidly.

The efficiency of new crystalline silicon cells in converting the sun's energy into electricity is about 27 percent, although their components are the same as those used in conventional cells, which are generally no more than 20 percent efficient.

The breakthrough by a team of Chinese and Dutch researchers was described in a scientific study recently published in the journal Nature Energy.

Model of heterogeneous silicon solar cells (Helmholtz Berlin Materials and Energy Center)

Accelerated growth thanks to increased efficiency of solar panels

Data from the International Energy Agency shows that the use of solar energy has accelerated in recent years, with a growth of about 2021% in 22 compared to the previous year. However, it still accounts for only 3.6% of the world's electricity production.

But this type of energy is poised to become the cheapest and most used renewable energy source in the world in the future, thanks to the work that researchers are developing technologies used in this field, especially those related to improving the efficiency of solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity.

The efficiency of solar panels is a measure of the amount of sunlight (radiation) that falls on the surface of the solar panels and is converted into electricity. Due to the many developments in photovoltaic technology in recent years, the average conversion efficiency of crystalline silicon panels has increased from 15% in 2015 to more than 21%, according to a report by Clean Energy Reviews.

Leap forward

In this new study, researchers from China's Sun Yet-Sun University (SYSU) and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands improved the efficiency of heterogeneous silicon solar cells. It is a hybrid technology that combines the aspects of conventional crystalline solar cells with thin-film solar cells.

Improving the efficiency of solar cells will accelerate the energy transition in the future (Shutterstock)

According to a press release published on the Dutch University website, the researchers succeeded in improving the design of this type of cell by adding a thin layer of crystalline nanosilicon with transparent conductive oxide, called the "enhanced silicon nanohole contact layer."

Although theoretical studies have indicated the importance of this layer in increasing the efficiency of solar cells, researchers have previously failed to implement it in practice. The new layer can transmit electricity with much lower resistance, raising the energy conversion efficiency to be higher than any other type of crystalline silicon solar cell.

The researchers implemented this new technology on standard industrial-grade silicon chips produced by China's Longi, making the technology almost immediately applicable in the production of solar panels. The results of the experiment showed an unprecedented efficiency of 26.81% for this type of cells.

Since the solar cells currently in use are made of crystalline silicon representing about 95% of the world's photovoltaic market, improving the efficiency of this type will have a strong impact on accelerating the energy transition, especially since reaching net zero emissions by 2050 requires 3 times the production capacity of solar energy in the future, according to the International Energy Agency.