The Japanese company has achieved the highest conversion efficiency in the world with its new triple-junction module prototype.
Light and flexible photovoltaic modules for incorporation into cars.
Flexible, practical and with record performance. These are the new light photovoltaic modules created by the Sharp corporation, which these days announces that it has achieved an exceptional result.
Thanks to an ad hoc design that combines three very fine layers of light absorption, the product is capable of converting 32.65% of the incident light into electricity. This is the highest value in the world for this solar category and, although they are still in the prototype phase, the modules already have practical dimensions for real use.
The result has been achieved within the framework of the “ Research and development of solar cells for use in vehicles ” project, launched by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The efficiency achieved exceeds that demonstrated by Sharp itself in 2016 (31.17%) -also within the framework of a NEDO project- and it was already a record in the sector at that time.
The new lightweight photovoltaic modules use a triple junction architecture, incorporating three thin solar films with indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) as the bottom layer. The result is a flexible and effective product weighing only 56 grams (0.58 kg/m 2 ).
Together, the modules measure approximately 29×34 cm, a sufficient size for the product to be commercially viable, especially for the purpose of the project: integration into vehicles.
“ Sharp ”, underlines the company in a press release, “ will continue to research and develop more efficient and lower cost solar modules with a view to their use in applications such as electric vehicles (EV) and the aerospace industry . The project, a pathway to carbon neutrality by 2050, will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation vehicles .”
The new efficiency record was confirmed by Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
