New Industry Products

Plextronics’ Organic Solar Cell Technology Efficiency Certified By National Renewable Energy Laboratory

August 14, 2007 by Jeff Shepard

Plextronics, Inc. announced that its organic photovoltaic technology achieved what the company claims is a world record in the conversion of solar light to power efficiency. The company’s result of 5.4% is said to have established a new world record for single layer organic solar cells as certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in Golden, Colorado.

Troy Hammond, Vice President of Products for Plextronics, said that the company began its organic photovoltaic development program less than two years ago, with the support of the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority. "Today’s world-record performance demonstrates the rapid pace at which our technology is progressing. We look forward to continuing this advancement until we have enabled low-cost solar cell products with our Plexcore® ink system."

According to Shawn Williams, Vice President of Technology at Plextronics, "NREL is the nation’s primary laboratory for renewable energy R&D, and to have their certification of our technology is absolutely vital. Most importantly, in the course of setting the world record, we’ve also identified clear pathways to further improve our technology."

Plexcore® ink systems for organic photovoltaic cells are claimed to enable the low-cost printing of photo-active and charge carrier layers, which together convert light to power in the organic photovoltaic cell. The ability to print organic photovoltaic cells on glass or plastic drastically is said to reduce the cost of energy compared to silicon solar cell technology. Specifically, Plextronics’ technology is said to have the potential to reduce the cost of solar cells below the commercially important threshold of $1 per watt, which is a reduction of up to five times that of crystalline silicon-based solar energy systems.