Top 5 Technologies Set To Make An Impact In Solar Deployment

Solar has gone through a lot of changes in the past decade, going from barely viable to a technology that looks to be the future of energy generation. With that in mind, let’s have a look at the top 5 technologies that will play key roles in improving solar going into the future.

Silicon heterojunction and tandem solar cells:

Invented in the 1970s, heterojunction cell technology is going to make a big splash in the solar market in the next few years, offering higher efficiency over traditional PV panels. Instead of there being a singular energy generating layer, heterojunction cells have multiple layers of semiconductor material sandwiched together. Silicon heterojunction cells contain a base layer of crystalline silicon coated in thin layers of amorphous silicon. Each layer is capable of generating electricity from different ranges of wavelengths of light, something that PV cells aren’t capable of doing. This allows for much higher efficiencies. While these cells have been more difficult to make than PV cells, new advancements in manufacturing are projected to bring down costs. One of these advancements is the tandem solar cell, which stacks additional super thin layers together to make an even more efficient cell.

Perovskite Cells:

Extending off of tandem solar cells, perovskite cells debuted in 2014 with efficiencies below 14%, but have managed to bring efficiencies up to 25% in the present day and will soon surpass record silicon single junction cells. While perovskite cells suffer from shorter lifespans, the perovskite PV research and development community is heavily focused on improving operational lifetime and hopes to make the technology viable in the coming years. Additionally, Chinese photovoltaic module maker Akcome New Energy Technology said it plans to invest CNY1 billion (USD 141 million) to build a perovskite solar cell research, development and production.

Wireless solar power:

Japan looks to make wireless solar power a reality by beaming power from space using microwaves. Space-based solar would make a massive impact on the industry, due to higher efficiency from not having to deal with weather and not taking up land area. Trials are slated to take place in 2025.

Solid state batteries:

Solid state batteries look to remedy multiple faults with lithium-ion batteries, with two of the key improvements being capacity and degradation. As of now, solutions for solar storage make use of lithium-ion cells which lose a lot of their original capacity after a few years. Solid state batteries on the other hand retained 95% of their original capacity after 1,000 cycles, according to tests conducted by PowerCo. If implemented along with solar panels properly, solid state batteries could allow for regular consumers to have a reliable, long-lasting and dense solution for energy storage.

‘Hairy’ Solar Panels:

Using tiny light absorbing nanowires on a carbon nanotube fabric, hairy solar panels can absorb much more light than traditional PV cells, coming out to nearly 96% of the solar energy shining their way. Hairy solar panels are predicted to be more affordable and flexible than traditional panels, making them prime candidates for large buildings and electric vehicles. While durability poses an issue currently, research is being done to make these panels more resilient to the elements.