Solar Frontier thin film photovoltaic cell conversion rate of 17.8%

On February 28th, Japan's CIGS manufacturer Solar Frontier announced that its developed 30 cm square CIGS thin film photovoltaic cell submodule has an opening conversion efficiency of 17.8%.

Satoru Kuriyagawa, chief technology officer of SolarFrontier, said that the process used is very similar to the process in a commercial production plant. If a smaller area can achieve higher conversion efficiency, the reason we focus on the sub-modules is that this is the way to business. a very viable road."

SolarFrontier's large number of CIGS thin film photovoltaic modules are produced at the new plant. The company claims that it has recently produced a high-efficiency photovoltaic module with an aperture conversion efficiency of 14.5%. When applied to a photovoltaic module, the conversion efficiency is 13.38%.

Market research firm LuxResearch stated in its latest CIGS market and technical report that CIGS technology is a key step to success if it is to increase conversion efficiency. “Because the conversion efficiency of PV modules determines the application installation and system price, the use of CIGS thin-film PV modules for housing, commercial and utility-grade projects largely depends on how close their conversion efficiencies are to monocrystalline or polycrystalline components.”

The average conversion efficiency of CIGS thin film photovoltaic modules is generally 10%-11%, while the conversion efficiency of polycrystalline modules is generally between 14.5%-15.5%. "Currently, FirstSolar's cadmium telluride thin film photovoltaic module conversion efficiency is 11.6%."