Organic solar cells achieve record 9.8% efficiency

The result was certified by Fraunhofer ISE CallLab under standard test conditions. Dr Martin Pfeiffer, Heliatek's co founder and cto, said: "Heliatek is the only solar company in the world focused on the deposition of small molecules with low temperature processes, a method that has already been widely adopted by the market for use with organic leds. Heliatek develops and synthesises in house the molecules responsible for capturing light in solar cells and converting this light into electricity. "The new world record is a clear indication that Heliatek is headed in the right direction. Organic solar cells … have now reached the level of efficiency of conventional solar cells made from amorphous silicon." The company, which has its own chemistry and physics research departments, optimised the absorber layer system of the record breaking cells through synthetising materials. By improving the deposition process, cell morphology was significantly improved, resulting in an increase of power output and in fill factor. The new cell construction will gradually be integrated into its manufacturing process in the second half of 2012. According to Heliatek, its in house measurements have shown that scaling up the cells to a panel with a size factor >120 results in efficiency over 9% for the active module area. Thibaud Le Séguillon, Heliatek's ceo, added: "The next step on our way to 15% will be a cell with over 10% efficiency sometime next year. This latest record validates once again the decision taken at the outset by our investors and our team to commit ourselves to the production of organic solar based on small molecules using low temperature processes. Our flexible, thin and light panels open up new fields of applications that were so far impossible to address with conventional PV technologies. "After our third investment round scheduled for 2012 - during which we plan to raise some €50million in new capital from current and new investors - we plan to expand our production capacity with additional manufacturing lines. This will allow us to market our high performance panels into new areas, such as windows and facades for BIPV. This technology has really the potential to revolutionise the solar industry."