Extreme solar power

 

A new world record was set when an Australian-led team were able to convert 43 per cent of sunlight energy into electricity.

Using a multi-cell combination of photovoltaic technology, the team have successfully provided a new benchmark for sourcing the alternative energy.

Led by Professor Martin Green, Research Director of the University Of New South Wales ARC Photovoltaics Centre Of Excellence, he explained that harnessing sunlight’s different colours of energy can lead to solar cells being used more effectively.

He said: “Because sunlight is made up of many colours of different energy, ranging from the high energy ultraviolet to the low energy infrared, a combination of solar cells of different materials can convert sunlight more efficiently than any single cell.

The team first developed a silicon cell optimised to capture light at the red and infra-red end of the spectrum, which was able to convert up to 46 per cent of light into electricity. Then, the cell was combined with four other cells, each optimised to absorb different parts of the solar spectrum, so together they could convert 43 per cent of sunlight into electricity.

This system surpassed the previous world record by 0.3 per cent.

Turn on the Sun

Meet a Role Model doing research into photovoltaic technology.

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