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Revolutionary Solar Energy Conversion Process PETE Developed by Stanford University

A new process that simultaneously combines the light and heat of solar radiation to generate electricity could offer more than double the efficiency of existing solar cell technology, say the Stanford engineers who discovered it and proved that it works.

The process, called “photon enhanced thermionic emission,” or PETE, could reduce the costs of solar energy production enough for it to compete with oil as an energy source.

Stanford engineers have figured out how to simultaneously use the light and heat of the sun to generate electricity in a way that could make solar power production more than twice as efficient as existing methods and potentially cheap enough to compete with oil. Unlike photovoltaic technology currently used in solar panels – which becomes less efficient as the temperature rises – the new process excels at higher temperatures.

Called “photon enhanced thermionic emission,” or PETE, the process promises to surpass the efficiency of existing photovoltaic and thermal conversion technologies. Read more at Stanford University

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1. Janus zegt:

   31 augustus 2017 om 13:40 | Permalink

   Swiss researchers team with NREL, CSEM and EPFL to break 35% solar cell efficiency

   A collaborative project between the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has tested a range of multi junction cells in tandem configuration, and achieved efficiencies of up to 35.9%.

   By working together again, the scientists team from CSEM, a Swiss research and technology center, EPFL, and NREL, have beaten their own record and cemented their positions as the top experts in this technology: an efficiency of 32.8 % was achieved for a dual-junction solar cell made by combining NREL GaAs top cell to CSEM silicon heterojunction bottom cell, and an efficiency of 35.9 % was attained for a triple-junction solar cell by combining NREL GaInP/GaAs top cell to CSEM silicon heterojunction bottom cell. Stephanie Essig of EPFL is lead author of the newly research paper published in the recent issue of Nature Energy, that details the steps taken to improve the efficiency of the multi-junction cell and the steps required for decreasing their manufacturing costs.

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