Oxford PV has set a new world record for the efficiency of a commercial-sized solar cell, marking a significant breakthrough in the drive towards a low-carbon global economy.

The record-breaking solar cell converted 28.6 per cent of the sun’s energy into electricity, as independently certified by Fraunhofer ISE. The cell was made by depositing a thin film of the material perovskite onto a conventional silicon solar cell. The combined ‘perovskite-on-silicon’ tandem solar cell achieves a conversion efficiency that is substantially higher than that of mainstream silicon-only solar cells, which average 22–24 per cent.

The solar cell was produced at Oxford PV’s integrated production line in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany. Oxford PV has also hit the headlines recently for saying that Britain the ‘least attractive’ market for solar investment, a view echoed by Christophe Williams, CEO of British solar thermal manufacturer Naked Energy: “If the UK wants to keep pace with US and Europe, we must now pull out all the stops and take every opportunity to invest in the green energy. Reliable government funding for renewable infrastructure would dramatically increase investor and business confidence and help those struggling to pay rising energy prices.”

Share Story: