German manufacturer SolarWorld has achieved 22.04% conversion efficiency in a PERC solar cell.
The Freiburg-based producer revealed the new efficiency in a briefing yesterday on its latest cell and module innovations
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Verified by research institute Fraunhofer ISE, the figure is a step up from the company’s previous best of 21.7%, which it announced in July last year. But it leaves the company short of the current PERC record of 22.13%, which was announced by Trina Solar in December.
SolarWorld said the p-type PERC cells that achieved the new efficiency were made using industrial processes, meaning the technology should be relatively swiftly converted into mass production.
The company has been one of the first to put PERC technology into volume production, with plans underway to migrate its US and Germany production lines to the new technology.
In results published at the end of 2015, the company revealed this process had been hit with various delays.