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High-efficiency Photovoltaics

Published on 5 August 2020


​High-efficiency Photovoltaics

The adoption of solar photovoltaic power will expand in proportion to improvements in module yields.

Liten research on the INES (France's solar energy research institute) campus covers the entire PV component value chain, from material and cell to module and system. With a focus on silicon technology, Liten is addressing not only conversion yields, but also cost and lifespan, which are vital inputs into the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE). Liten has obtained state-of-the-art performance on industrial-scale equipment, making it one of the world's leading centers for high-efficiency PV research. Currently, the goal is to reach 25% on silicon and, ultimately, 30% with tandem technologies.

Liten's research focuses mainly on:

High-quality silicon

  • Improving the electrical qualities of silicon: monolike crystallization of industrial-grade silicon.
  • Wafer manufacturing: diamond-wire slicing of silicon ingots, thinning of silicon wafers.


High-performance cells

  • Silicon photovoltaic cells: homojunction architectures (PERC, PERT, TopCon), heterojunction architectures, and tandem silicon heterojunction-perovskite architectures.
  • Cell fabrication processes and equipment, advanced characterization methods.
  • Printed photovoltaics: organic and perovskite, single- and multi-junction on silicon.

Photovoltaic cells: The three pillars of development


Module design optimization

  • Bifacial and high-power modules.
  • New cell interconnection and encapsulation processes.
  • Materials selection, reliability, lifespan.
  • Module recycling process.
  • Also see Photovoltaics Everywhere

 

Photovoltaic system architectures

Liten's research and development strategy is at the center of a complete ecosystem that includes equipment and component manufacturers, integrators, and operators.