Heliatek OPV Cell Sets New World Record

The R&D teams from organic flexible solar film manufacturer Heliatek GmbH said they have reached conversion efficiency of 13.2 percent for an organic photovoltaic (OPV) multi-injection cell, setting a new world record for the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity using OPV cells.

The electricity generation of the newly developed cells corresponds to the output of conventional solar cells with 16 to 17 percent efficiency when both are under real-world conditions, due to the low-light and high-temperature behavior of the organic semiconductor.

Heliafilm. Courtesy of Heliatek.
The result supports Heliatek’s roadmap toward 16 percent efficiency organic solar cells, validating its vacuum deposition of small molecules on plastic films.

“This success is based on our chemical research for new organic absorber materials,” said Martin Pfeiffer, chief technology officer of Heliatek.

The cell is a multi-junction cell combining three different absorbers. Each absorber is dedicated to efficient conversion into electricity of green-, red- or near-infrared light of the wavelength range 450 and 950 nm. These absorber molecules have been patented by Heliatek.

“It validates our choice to internalize our R&D, both by developing new absorber molecules and optimizing the device architecture," said Thibaud Le Séguillon, CEO of Heliatek, of the results. "This will provide the baseline for efficiency in our large-volume manufacturing line. With our HeliaFilm, we are clearly executing our strategy to provide decarbonized, decentralized energy generation directly on buildings all over the world.”

The record efficiency was measured at simulated AM 1.5 illumination and was confirmed by the Fraunhofer Center for Silizium-Photovoltaik in Halle, Germany, a recognized center for independent verification of solar cell performance results under standard testing conditions.