Amonix achieves “World Record” Efficiency
Amonix Inc. of Los Angeles California has just made the highest efficiency silicon solar cell in the world.
Amonix Inc. of Los Angeles California has just made the highest efficiency silicon solar cell in the world. This world record efficiency of 27.6% has been independently verified by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany and surpasses the previous record back in 1994 of 26.8%.
Amonix took the original “back contact” solar cell design first conceived back in the 70’s and enhanced the technology. By modifying the design and improving the processing techniques Amonix has achieved this high efficiency. Interestingly, this solar cell was part of a production “batch” and not specifically made in order to obtain a world record. Amonix is currently expanding its local Los Angeles based manufacturing operations and with such highly efficient solar cells will have a distinct competitive advantage over other less efficient solar cell manufacturers. According to Dr Alexander Slade, (Manager of R&D at Amonix) he and his team have in three years achieved a 50% reduction in processing cost, enhancing Amonix’s comparative advantage.
Amonix
Bringing solar into the mainstream with high-concentration photovoltaics
Amonix Inc. is a privately held, California-based designer and manufacturer of proprietary, patented high-performance photovoltaic (PV) solar cells and high concentration PV (HCPV) solar electric power-generating systems. The HCPV system is comprised of MegaModules® and a solar tracker which follows the sun throughout the day. The MegaModules® are designed specially for large-scale electricity generation. The Amonix-developed system minimizes the solar cell area needed to generate electricity by using a unique technological innovation which results in substantial reduction in the cost of solar energy.
Photovoltaic (PV) technology (the direct conversion of sunlight to electricity by means of a specialized semiconductor device called a solar cell) offers significant advantages over fossil fuels because it is non-polluting, inexhaustible, plentiful (an area 170 miles in diameter in the Southwest receives enough sunlight per year to generate power for the entire USA) and, once installed, inexpensive to operate and maintain. The one barrier associated with utility scale deployment of traditional PV technology—its high cost—has been overcome by Amonix.
Amonix’s patented HCPV MegaModule® system uses low-cost acrylic fresnel lenses to concentrate sunlight onto high-performance silicon solar cells. By concentrating the sunlight, the required size of the costly solar cells is reduced by up to 500 times resulting in highly cost-competitive solar electricity generation. The 5th generation MegaModule® systems build on the experience gained over the past decade of field trials and incorporate significant design improvements in the low-cost solar cell receiver plate, tracking drive, controller and structure. The MegaModule® also incorporates significant design enhancements for low-cost mass manufacturing and ease of installation.
Amonix's HCPV MegaModule® systems are considered the leading solar energy technology in the world today that could compete with fossil fuels for low-cost electricity generation in utility scale deployments.
Click here for the ISE CalLab technical sheet.
About Amonix
Amonix, Inc. is the best choice for utility-scale solar power in hot and dry climates. Founded in 1989 to commercialize concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar power systems, and with a 15-year operating history in real-world conditions, Amonix has more experience and more deployments than any CPV manufacturer. For more information, visit www.Amonix.com.
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