Most efficient Solar Cell in the world

The most efficient solar cell in the world created, with 44.5 percent efficiency.

Scientists at the George Washington University developed a solar cell that converts direct sunlight into electricity with 44.5 percent efficiency.

The best solar shells in the market only converts electricity with a maximum efficiency of about 25 percent.

The study, “GaSb-based Solar Cells for Full Solar Spectrum Energy Harvesting,” was published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials.

Matthew Lumb, lead author of the study and a research scientist at the School of Engineering and Applied Science, said:

“Around 99 percent of the power contained in direct sunlight reaching the surface of Earth falls between wavelengths of 250 nanometers and 2,500 nanometers, but conventional materials for high-efficiency multi-junction solar cells cannot capture this entire spectral range.

Our new device is able to unlock the energy stored in the long-wavelength photons, which are lost in conventional solar cells, and therefore provides a pathway to realizing the ultimate multi-junction solar cell.”

Image credit George Washington University

source George Washington University