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BioSolar Inc. revealed at the SPIE Symposium on Solar Applications and Energy earlier this month that materials derived from cotton and castor beans compose the company’s BioBacksheet. The backsheet is a protective covering, traditionally made from petroleum-based film, used in the back of virtually all photovoltaic solar cells.
BioSolar Reveals Cotton & Castor Beans Behind its Solar Technology
At 39.7% efficiency for a multi-junction solar cell, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems have exceeded their own European record of 37.6% which they achieved just a short time ago. III-V semiconductor multi-junction solar cells are used in photovoltaic concentrator technology for solar power stations.
New European Record Efficiency For Solar Cells Achieved: 39.7%
Amazingly, a 12-year-old from Portland, OR has facilitated the latest in solar industry headlines. William Yuan, a seventh grader, has researched and revolutionized the three-dimensional solar cell. First invented by scientists at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, this new generation of solar cells can absorb both UV and visible light, possibly improving cell efficiency dramatically.
Yuan, as part of the craziest homework assignment I’ve ever heard of, researched and developed his own version of the 3-D solar cell. Typical solar cells are flat and can only absorb visible light. The 3-D solar cell, however, greatly improves absorption by collecting UV rays as well. There is no doubt that young Yuan has found himself a spot on the cutting edge of solar technology and research. He earned himself a $25,000 scholarship and a trip to the Library of Congress for his efforts. (more…)
12-Year-Old Transforms the 3-D Solar Cell
Suniva Inc. announced that its R&D team has developed several silicon solar cells in its lab with more than 20% conversion efficiencies using its patented combination of cell designs and screen printing technologies.
Suniva Produces Screen Printed Solar Cells with Record 20% Efficiency
University of Utah engineers devised a new way to slice thin wafers of the chemical element germanium for use in the most efficient type of solar cells. They say the new method should lower the cost of such cells by reducing the waste and breakage of the brittle semiconductor.
Engineers have devised a new way to slice thin wafers of the chemical element germanium for use in the most efficient type of solar power cells. They say the new method should lower the cost of such cells by reducing the waste and breakage of the brittle semiconductor.
Slicing Solar Power Costs: New Method Cuts Waste In Making Most Efficient Solar Cells
Product Briefing Outline: Adept Technology has launched its ‘Adept Quattro’ s650 robot that comes with a Bernoulli gripper. The new system integrates high resolution inspection with high speed solar cell handling. The Quattro robot is claimed to be the world’s fastest robot with over 200 systems sold worldwide. The Bernoulli gripper combined with the Quattro robot creates an effective method for manipulating solar cells without the potential for product damage.
New Product: Adept Technology’s new robot streamlines solar cell production
Solar company “BioSolar“ is a company that produces “bio-based” materials from renewable plant sources. This technology reduces the cost per watt of producing solar cells. The company has made a new “backsheet” which is a protective covering used in the production of solar cells. They produce their “Biobacksheet” product from these plant resources. Most backsheets are made of petroleum-based materials resulting in a higher cost.
For the past year and a half BioSolar has managed to keep the “secret” to their ability to produce solar cells at a lower cost. They revealed their new technology at a solar symposium in San Diego. The plants they are using to get the cost down are cotton and caster beans. They have patents pending on the different processes they use and as a result feel more comfortable revealing their information publicly.
Read the rest of the article at Marketwatch.
Photo courtesy of BioSolar
Product Briefing Outline: Enerize Corporation has developed a new design for photovoltaic (PV) modules using a proprietary transparent polymer material that is claimed to outperform glass conventionally used as a protective covering. The proprietary polymer material is highly transparent, and stable under UV and ionizing radiation exposure. The new highly transparent polymer material can be applied directly to the PV module surface at low temperatures, eliminating the need for the adhesives required with glass and some other polymers. Evaluation of the new Enerize polymer encapsulation materials has been carried out using PV modules that include up to 5 solar cells with a surface area of 72 cm2 each.
New Product: Transparent polymer protective covering from Enerize boosts PV module efficiencies
Product Briefing Outline: MANZ print station powered by Optomec Aerosol Jet
Manz offers a new print station for contact-less printing of crystalline solar cells using OPTOMEC Aerosol Jet technology and will be the exclusive sales and marketing partner for the Optomec solar applications. Optomec has developed an advanced contact free metallization process for crystalline solar cells. Manz will integrate the Optomec technology into its back end line platform.
New Product: MANZ/Optomec Aerosol Jet technology prints features below 40 microns
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