L R AS Published on Monday 22 November 2021 - n° 383 - Categories:cells, R&D

Is it interesting to place sub-cells inside a single cell?

The American start-up company Solar Inventions had the idea of connecting sub-cells in series within a single cell, in order to increase the voltage of the device and without requiring the cells to be physically broken or rewired.

"Every time a solar cell is cut in half, the ratio of perimeter to area increases," said the company's CEO. This results in unwanted diode effects and higher edge recombination rates for individual half cells.

This novel technique provides the same benefits as die-cut half cells, but without the need to physically break and rewire the cells. The net savings in silver paste are proportional to the number of bus bars on the cell.

The cost of silver paste is 10% of the cost of the panels. In the event of a continued decline in cell and panel prices, finding a way to reduce the silver paste cost share will become an increasingly difficult task.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/11/18/novel-solar-cell-architecture-to-reduce-silver-costs-improve-voltage/

PV Magazine of 18 November 2021

Subscribe to the newsletter "Le Fil de l'Actu"...

Most read articles in the last 10 days