Multi-junction cells are going to be the standard. Perovskite+silicon is moving into the factories from the labs right now and getting pushed hard by multiple companies. High end multi-junction products have been in space for decades. The challenge is that most of them – like this 37% project talked about today – are using expensive materials – and so the solar panels cost $5-8/W, a big difference from our current 30-70¢/W. How long until you and I have a solar panel above 25% making use of multijunction? Five years minimum…unless you got a lot of money and are ready to invest for the rest of us.
SOURCE: Microlink’s ELO production process involves the peeling off of thin active cell layers from a gallium arsenide substrate, and is combined with multi junction technology, integrating three or more semiconductor layers. While the company points out that the substrates made from costly gallium arsenide can be reused to keep costs down, it is unlikely the cells will be cheap enough for application outside of UAVs, satellite and other areas requiring very lightweight solar cells.
