Mitsubishi sets new green record with World’s Highest Conversion Efficiency Rate

Some fresh breaking green news from the land of rising sun! Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has just declared that it has improved its world’s highest conversion efficiency rate for a 150 x 150 millimeter practical-size multi-crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) cell by 0.3 points. That pushes the 18.6 percent to a new world record of 18.9 percent. Constantly working on improving their photoelectric conversion efficiency rate, the company has developed this new method to efficiently absorb infrared rays in sunlight, thus setting a bench mark of this new world record. The newly developed PV cell has a rear-surface reflection structure, which reflects infrared rays that reaches its rear surface to allow the cell to absorb more light. This has helped to improve efficiency in utilizing infrared rays by 26 percent compared to the company’s previous PV cells. Adopting the same low-reflective honeycomb-textured structure, it assists in reducing the amount of light reflected from their front surface and thus absorb more sunlight into the cells.

From April 2010, the company intends to introduce this multi-crystal silicon PV cell technology into mass-produced PV modules. Mitsubishi Electric also aims to increase output of PV systems by combining this technology with its PV inverters, which have a high energy-conversion efficiency rate. The company intends to continue its R&D to improve efficiency in PV systems, thus contributing to environmental preservation and achieving a sustainable society.
[Businesswire]