The world's thinnest crystalline silicon solar cell has been launched, thinner than A4 paper, and the power-to-weight ratio is increased by 2-3 times

Have you ever seen a crystalline silicon solar cell thinner than A4 paper?

In the first period, the research team of Jiangsu University of Science and Technology developed an ultra-thin solar cell, which is not only thinner than thin-film cells, the thinnest is only 50 microns, can be bent into a roll, but also more efficient than traditional crystalline silicon cells.

At present, solar cells are mainly divided into three categories: crystalline silicon cells, thin-film cells and new batteries.

From the perspective of market application, crystalline silicon cells are in a dominant position in the market due to their advantages of high photoelectric conversion efficiency, mature technology, and abundant raw material reserves. Crystalline silicon solar cells are currently the most mature and widely used photovoltaic power generation technology, accounting for more than 90% of the global crystalline silicon cell market.

However, with the development of solar cell technology, the traditional crystalline silicon solar cells have also appeared development problems, for example, the power conversion efficiency of industrialized large-area crystalline silicon cells has never been able to break through the 26% mark, and the thickness of the current more advanced crystalline silicon cells, generally in the range of 150~180 μm, is difficult to be applied to scenarios with high requirements for material weight or flexibility, such as floating photovoltaics on the sea surface, curved roofs, satellites, space stations, etc.

Therefore, crystalline silicon solar cells with high conversion efficiency, large area, light weight, good flexibility and low cost have become an important goal for the development of the industry.

This time, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, together with other institutions, has developed new technologies and processes such as surface interface passivation and doped contact growth, and the wafers manufactured are thinned to 55-130μm thickness, with the thinnest being only 50 microns. The test results showed that the five products with a thickness of 57 microns to 125 microns achieved a conversion efficiency of more than 26%, and the highest was 26.81%, breaking through the limit in one fell swoop. At the same time, the power-to-weight ratio of the 57μm thick battery has reached an astonishing 1.9W/g, and the radius of curvature is 19mm, which is 2-3 times that of existing products on the market. In addition, the relevant test data has also been certified by the authoritative testing organization Hamelin Institute of Solar Energy in Germany.

This breakthrough is also the first time in the world to manufacture such a crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cell with high flexibility and high power-to-weight ratio, which is of great practical significance.

According to the statistics of the General Administration of Customs, the total export value of electric manned vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar cells reached 1.06 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.9%, breaking through the trillion yuan mark for the first time. Among them, the total export weight of the three types of photovoltaic products, including silicon wafers, cells and modules, was 18.1827 million tons, an increase of 25.56% from 14.4811 million tons in 2022.

In other words, the mainland has a huge export volume of solar cells, and crystalline silicon cells are the main force, and the strategic position is self-evident. Especially in manufacturing technology, if we can take the lead in making breakthroughs, we will further seize market opportunities. In the past, thin-film solar cells generally referred to amorphous silicon or organic solar cells, but this time, the thickness of crystalline silicon cells has been extreme, even thinner than A4 paper, which can be said to make up for the major shortcomings of crystalline silicon cells. In the future, once large-scale mass production is achieved, our crystalline silicon cells will be more competitive.

In short, China will continue to lead the world in the field of solar cells.