Researchers from the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in South Korea have fabricated a new transparent solar cell and module.
The team’s design consists of an all-back-contact (ABC) configuration, with all electrical contacts placed on the back, creating a glass-like transparent crystalline silicon (c-Si) cell. They also developed the Seamless Modularization technology to eliminate gaps between devices without using metal wires, resulting in a metal wire-free solar panel.
The ABC design “not only demonstrates high energy conversion efficiency (PCE) in solar cells, but also ensures unobstructed vision through transparent solar panels,” the researchers said in “Neutral colored transparent crystalline silicon solar cells with full back contact enable seamless modularization”, recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The team’s ABC transparent c-Si solar cell achieved a PCE of 15.8% while maintaining an average visible transmittance of 20%, while a 16 cm² transparent solar cell module recorded a PCE of 14.7%. The output voltage and power were systematically tuned from 0.64 V and 15.8 mW for a 1 cm² unit cell to 10.0 V and 235 mW for a 16 cm² module.
The solar panel also proved to be able to charge a smartphone with natural sunlight.
Researcher Jeonghwan Park and research assistant Prof. Kangmin Lee said the study “fundamentally solved the aesthetic problem of the existing modular solar cell method.” They explained that the transparent silicon solar cell could be used in various industries and in small appliances, as well as in buildings and car windows.
“We have opened a new avenue for research into modularization, which is essential for the commercialization of transparent silicon solar cells,” said Prof. Kwanyong Seo. “We plan to continue further research so that transparent solar cells can become a key technology in the environmentally friendly energy industry of the future.”
In March, a UNIST research team designed a scalable solar photoelectrochemical system that produces green hydrogen.
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