Taiwan scholars achieve solar cell efficiency breakthrough

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's Academia Sinica announced on Monday (Jan. 20) that a team of domestic scholars developed a next-generation solar cell with a power conversion efficiency exceeding 31%. This achievement surpasses the efficiency of the latest commercial products by over 30%, marking a significant advancement in solar technology.

The Academia Sinica highlighted Taiwan's limited land availability, which restricts large-scale solar installations. Improving solar cell efficiency has become crucial. Current silicon-based solar cells have a maximum efficiency of 22% to 24%, and breaking the 30% barrier with the same technology is nearly impossible. Researchers focused on multi-junction or stacked designs, utilizing perovskite films to enhance efficiency.

Researcher Chu Chih-wei (朱治偉) from its research center stated that two years ago, President James Liao (廖俊智) set a research direction, leading to the formation of a team comprising experts from Academia Sinica, National Cheng Kung University (成大), National Tsing Hua University (清華大學), and Ming Chi University of Technology (明志科大). Liao noted that the team's efforts over two years resulted in a solar cell that significantly boosts efficiency without expanding land use.

Researcher Kuo Tsung-fang (郭宗枋) explained that although the product is currently a small-area component, it demonstrates Taiwan's capability to independently develop and manufacture stacked solar cell technology with commercial potential. However, despite this breakthrough, the institute faces challenges due to budget cuts imposed by the Legislative Yuan (立法院), which have severely affected team morale and raised concerns about retaining young talent in Taiwan.