1 December 2010

QuantaSol moves tunable CPV cells into pilot production

QuantaSol Ltd of Kingston-upon-Thames, UK, which designs and manufactures tunable concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar cells, is moving into pilot production following a successful period of global customer sampling.

Spun off from Imperial College, London in mid-2007 and funded by the Low Carbon Accelerator and Imperial Innovations, in June 2009 QuantaSol said that its strain-balanced quantum-well solar cell (SB-QWSC) had achieved record conversion efficiency of 28.3% for a single-junction PV cell at a concentration of greater than 500 suns (tested independently by Fraunhofer ISE). The firm has since been applying the technology to higher-efficiency multi-junction cells.

The firm claims that its latest technology, based on adding multiple quantum wells to triple-junction solar cells, enhances photovoltaic conversion efficiency and offers manufacturers a route to improving the performance of their CPV system while driving down the cost per kWh. QuantaSol has been sampling with customers across Europe, Asia and the USA for several months, and has worked closely with leading system vendors to enhance their systems by maximizing energy harvest.

“Our technology has always been focused on achieving maximum efficiency and power output in real-world conditions, and this has been pivotal in moving forward from the lab stage towards production,” says CEO Chris Shannon. “We have been able to demonstrate genuine advantages in cost per kWh terms,” he adds.

To date, QuantaSol has accumulated an order book of more than 1MW of cells, and these will be delivered through first-half 2011.

Tags: QuantaSol GaAs solar cell

Visit: www.quantasol.com