LONGi Green Energy Technology announced that Fraunhofer ISE CalLab of Germany certified a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 22.71 percent on the company’s monocrystalline PERC cell, which is a new world record for this cell type.
In April 2017, LONGi Solar’s 100MW pilot cell line achieved maximum efficiency of 22.17 percent in mass production (certified by CPVT);
At the end of August, LONGi Solar improved the efficiency to 22.43 percent.
This recent breakthrough in conversion efficiency is LONGi’s latest and most important technology R&D achievement to-date. It also marks the arrival of a Chinese enterprise as a leading-edge photovoltaic producer.
In 2015, the China top-runner project acquainted users with monocrystalline PERC modules. Since then, PERC’s huge potential has increasingly attracted the industry’s attention.
With this breakthrough in PERC cell efficiency, LONGi has confirmed the outstanding power generation capability and broad application prospects of monocrystalline PERC technology, the company said.
Dr. Li Hua, vice president of Cell R&D of LONGi Solar, said, “Based on large-area, P-type monocrystalline silicon wafer, we are able to employ mass production compatible cell process technology and able to realize a conversion efficiency of 22.71 percent. This greatly enhances the entire industry’s confidence in P-type monocrystalline cell.”
“With continued R&D optimization, we believe the monocrystalline PERC cell can reach a conversion efficiency of greater than 23.0 percent in the near future,” Hua added.
LONGi Solar plans to introduce the 22.0 percent efficient PERC cell technology into the production line at the end of 2017, allowing the company to deliver Top Runner-compliant products with leading edge technical standards. LONGi’s module power rating will achieve 340W-345W for a 60-cell format by 2018.
In the first half of 2017, LONGi has reinvested over 7 percent of its revenue back into R&D. This ratio is among the top in the industry. By its keen focus on technological advancements, LONGi aims to make solar a bigger part of the global energy mix.