Sol Voltaics eyes 27%-plus PV efficiency after new milestone for nanowires

Sol Voltaics AB is now able to control nanowire orientation and alignment in a thin film, an achievement the Swedish solar tech firm says would help bring solar module efficiencies to 27% or more.

The company explained Thursday that nanowires are very difficult to align due to their high aspect ratios and material characteristics. It has found a way to control orientation and alignment at centimeter scale on standard-sized wafers. Sol Voltaics said this is “the most significant technology milestone in solar nanowire manufacturing to date”.

The solar firm is developing a high-volume production platform for its Aerotaxy nanowire thin-film process. “Realistically, we have a few remaining hurdles to get over in order to get into commercialization but we're very confident we can deliver a truly transformative energy solution,” said CEO Erik Smith.

A year ago Sol Voltaics announced that it has reached a 1-sun conversion efficiency of 15.3% in a gallium-arsenide (GaAs) nanowire array (NWA) solar cell. The cells were recently retested by Fraunhofer-ISE, showing little or no degradation nearly 18 months after the initial tests.

The nanowire orientation and alignment control, alongside other technology advances in progress, will allow Sol Voltaics to further boost that efficiency.

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