Trina Solar’s State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology of China has successfully set new world records for high efficiency p-type and n-type silicon solar cells.
The p-type mono-crystalline silicon solar cell on an industrial Cz wafer, which integrates advanced technologies including back surface passivation and local back surface field, reached an efficiency of 21.40% (156×156 mm2). This result has been independently confirmed by Fraunhofer ISE CalLab in Germany. The same advanced cell technologies on a high quality multi-crystalline Si wafer resulted in a new p-type multi-crystalline silicon solar cell with an efficiency of 20.53% (156×156 mm2), as independently confirmed by the National Center of Supervision and Inspection on Solar Photovoltaic Product Quality (CPVT) in Wuxi, China. Both results established new world records for mono and multi p-type silicon solar cells with passivated rear surface and local contact, on 6" substrates and fabricated with an industrial process. These cells are commonly called iPERC cells.
The n-type mono-crystalline silicon solar cell with an Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC) structure and industrially feasible production process achieved an efficiency of 22.9% on a 156×156 mm2 n-type Cz wafer as independently tested by Japan Electrical Safety & Environment Technology Laboratories (JET). This marks another milestone in the development of IBC solar cells and comes shortly after the demonstration of a laboratory IBC solar cell with a 24.4% efficiency developed through Trina Solar's collaboration with the Australian National University's (ANU) Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems in March this year.
To the Company's knowledge, these total-area efficiency results, independently verified by external laboratories, affirm these cells to be in their categories the most efficient silicon solar cells made by industrially feasible production processes on 156mm x 156mm substrates for both p-type (mono & multi) and n-type (mono) substrates that have been tested anywhere in the world to date.
"Though these technologies are not currently in production, they will be part of our future commercialized Honey Plus and IBC products,” said Dr. Pierre Verlinden, Vice President and Chief Scientist of Trina Solar. “Our aim is to continuously integrate technological developments into our PV products, which are currently commercialized or would be in the future, to further drive down the product cost, strengthen our competitive advantages and provide affordable solar power to the world. "