Mitsubishi Develops Solar Cell with World’s Highest Efficiency Rate

March 19, 2008 – Vol. 12 No. 52

Mitsubishi Electric Develops Silicon Solar Cell with World’s Highest Conversion Efficiency Rate and Plans Solar Production Capacity Expansion.

The company has achieved a photoelectric conversion efficiency rate of 18.6 percent in a 150-millimeter square practical-use multi-crystalline silicon solar cell.

Main features of the high efficiency photovoltaic (PV) cell include:

– World’s first solar cell developed with a low-reflective honeycomb textured structure in order to reduce light reflectivity on the surface.

– An optimized n-layer in the p-n junction. The lightly doped emitter (n-layer) increases light gain and improves efficiency of power generation.

– 25-percent reduced shade loss from front grid electrodes and larger effective electrical output surface area .

Mitsubishi Electric will begin introducing this multi-crystal silicon cell technology into its mass-produced photovoltaic modules by fiscal 2011.

The company also announced that solar production capacity will increase to 500 MW per year by 2013. It will invest a total of some 7 billion yen ($65.5 million) to expand annual production capacity of PV cells at factories in Japan. This investment will expand Mitsubishi Electric’s annual PV production capacity from 150 MW to 220 MW in October 2008. Looking to the future, the company aims to establish a production system with an annual capacity of 500 MW by fiscal 2013 which ends March 31, 2013).

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and building equipment. (3/19/08)

Links:

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
http://global.mitsubishielectric.com

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