.
On December 19, 2024, Qcells, a subsidiary of South Korea’s Hanwha Corp, announced a major breakthrough in solar cell efficiency. The company has set a new world record for the efficiency of a large-area silicon solar cell with a top layer of perovskite, achieving an impressive 28.6% efficiency on a commercial-sized cell known as an M10. This is considerably higher than the current efficiency of 27% for crystalline silicon cells and 21% for traditional commercial silicon solar panels.
Qcells’ discovery has the potential to dramatically shrink the size of solar projects and significantly reduce costs. This comes at a time when extensive land use by large solar projects is becoming a major challenge. For example, the Solar Star Project in California, one of the largest solar energy facilities in the world, covers 3,000 acres with 1.7 million panels. In comparison, a natural gas power plant located 100 miles away produces the same amount of energy on just 122 acres.
The use of perovskite in combination with silicon has been a major focus in the solar industry, as it has the potential to significantly increase efficiency. While China’s Longi has achieved efficiency breakthroughs above 30%, these were for much smaller cells. Qcells’ achievement is significant as it has been achieved on a large commercial-sized cell.
The high-performance perovskite silicon panels have the potential to revolutionize the solar energy sector, as silicon panels currently dominate the market with over 90% of panels manufactured using this material. However, traditional silicon panels have a major drawback – they are inefficient, with the most affordable models only managing 7%-16% efficiency. This is due to the fact that they are wafer-based rather than thin-film, sacrificing efficiency for durability.
Qcells’ breakthrough could help meet the world’s rapidly growing energy demand and contribute to achieving de-carbonization goals. By increasing efficiency and reducing the size and cost of solar projects, this technology could make solar energy more accessible and widespread. This is a significant development in the renewable energy sector and could have a major impact on the future of solar energy.