Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan has created a novel type of solar cell using metal wrap-through technology.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) stated that the technology increases solar cell efficiency from 16% to 17.2%. Solar cell manufacturers will benefit from this advancement, which will result in increased global sales and reduced manufacturing costs.
Taiwan’s innovative solar cells will have a competitive edge over other cells produced in Germany, Netherlands and Japan. In 2010, China-made solar cells were leading the global market share by 46.4% followed by Taiwan with 14.1%, according to MOEA statistics.
The metal wrap-through technology is ideal for producing multicrystalline solar cells that shifts the bus bars placed on the cells’ front side to the back, thus decreasing darkness on the front side. This increases energy efficiency by 1%-2% when compared to standard solar cells.
Kenmec Mechanical Engineering and Tainergy Tech will use the metal wrap-through technology to produce solar cells and PV modules in 2012.
Source: http://www.moea.gov.tw/