By Renewable Energy Focus staff

Solar Junction's achievement was, in part, supported under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) PV Incubator Program, managed through DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

The cell’s efficiency was confirmed by NREL’s Measurement and Characterisation Laboratory. The 5.5 mm x 5.5 mm production cell tops the current record by 1.2 percent, and is significantly higher than the average efficiency gain achieved by previous record holders.

Solar Junction reported that its cell measured a peak efficiency of 43.5%, at greater than 400 suns, and still maintained an efficiency as high as 43% out to 1,000 suns.

Solar Junction’s cells incorporate the company’s proprietary adjustable spectrum lattice-matched, A-SLAM technology, which enables the company to more optimally partition the solar spectrum for maximum efficiency and greater reliability.

Increases in CPV cell efficiencies are a key driver for improving CPV economics, with each cell efficiency gain leveraged and multiplied in value by the components that account for the remaining 80% of total system costs.

Over the past four years, world record CPV cell efficiencies have averaged improvements of 0.4% annually. By contrast, over the past 9 months Solar Junction has been on a steep efficiency trajectory with its 5.5 mm x 5.5 mm commercial-ready production cell. This 43.5% achievement comes just two months after Solar Junction reported achieving an NREL-verified 41.4% efficiency, also achieved as part of the Company’s PV Incubator subcontract.

In February, Solar Junction made the short list of finalists selected for post-selection due diligence within the DOE Loan Guarantee Program (LGP). The Company plans to scale in-house manufacturing to 250 MW capacity and ship commercial cells within the year.