Published in Horizon, 16 October 2013
Researchers are working on ways to make silicon-free solar cells that are more energy-efficient.
The performance of solar cells depends largely on the material they are made of, and silicon, the base for most solar cells, is cheap to make, but as a thin film converts at most 10 % of sunlight to electricity.
However, copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar cells convert about 13 % of sunlight to electricity, and that has been extended to over 20 % in the lab.
Those are attractive figures for the European Union, which has promised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least one-fifth below 1990 levels by 2020. Part of this cutback is expected to come from the more widespread adoption of efficient solar power. […]
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