Solar Cells in Direct Comparison

Fraunhofer ISE Charts the Efficiency of Different Types of Solar Cells

Great advances in research and development over the last

few years have led to increasingly higher solar cell power
outputs. With new cell concepts and production
technologies, the solar cell efficiencies, especially those for
large-format solar cells, have increasingly improved. Now the
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE offers solar
cell manufacturers the possibility to enter their cells into a
comprehensive list, so-called "Fraunhofer ISE PV-Charts",
which compares the performance of different solar cell
types.

Technological innovations which increase the solar cell
power output are highly relevant for competitiveness in the
solar industry. Together scientists and manufacturers have
achieved decisive advances and brought new, more efficient
solar cells onto the market. With PV-Charts, Fraunhofer ISE
now plans to make it easier for people outside the branch to
compare the various technologies and solar cells and to give
them transparency. In Fraunhofer ISE PV-Charts, record
results measured at the accredited CalLab PV Cells will be
published upon the manufacturer's permission. Fraunhofer
ISE PV-Charts will rank the solar cells according to the cell
efficiency as well as provide information from the
manufacturer on the different cell technologies.

The solar cell calibration laboratory at Fraunhofer ISE has
been a renowned name within the solar industry for many
years. Manufacturers commission CalLab PV Cells to calibrate
their solar cells or to make reference cells. Fraunhofer ISE PVCharts
will be compiled in close cooperation with the solar
cell industry. Fraunhofer ISE calls on solar cell manufacturers,
long-term partners and new customers to name record
breaking solar cell results for publication in the PV-Charts.
With the permission of the manufacturers, the measurement
results from the CalLab PV Cells together with the further
information on the different cell types will be presented in
Fraunhofer ISE PV-Charts in the form of tables and graphs.
These will be published on the Fraunhofer ISE website for
viewing. A template for presenting the records and further
information can be found at www.pv-charts.com.

Already at the end of the 1980s, Fraunhofer ISE published an
overview of the efficiencies of industrially relevant solar cell
types and continued this publication into the 1990s. Today a
well-established overview of peak efficiencies exists. This
listing, however, is not intended to encompass the entire
range of different manufacturing technologies. "The goal of
our PV-Charts is to compile a comprehensive list for
comparing all types of solar cells. This list keeps up with the
newest technologies, with a continually expanding collection
of benchmarks. Over and above the cell efficiency,
Fraunhofer ISE PV-Charts also will present an overview on
the different cell designs that are used in the solar cell
production by the various manufacturers," says Dr. Stefan
Glunz, Division Director Silicon Solar Cells – Development
and Characterization at Fraunhofer ISE.

About CalLab PV Cells
CalLab PV Cells was started at Fraunhofer ISE about 25 years
ago. Its service offer includes the measurement of solar cells
having different PV technologies. The lab is performing ongoing
work worldwide with manufacturers and institutes on
the development of precision measurements for the new
technologies in the field. In 2008, the calibration laboratory
for solar cells was accredited by the Deutsche Kalibrierdienst
DKD (now called the Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle DakkS).
Today the CalLab PV Cells is one of leading calibration
laboratories for solar cells worldwide – www.callab.de.

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