Amonix Inc. is no stranger to setting peak efficiency records with its concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar power systems. As a matter of fact, it just set a new record that successfully converted more than 36% of direct sunlight into electricity. This new achievement breaks the old record Amonix established in May 2012 of 34.2% peak efficiency.
Image Credit: CPV Technology via Amonix
Amonix has been the leading designer and manufacturer of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar power systems for quite some time. This result continues Amonix’s long history of leading the world in solar module efficiency, having been the first to convert over ⅓ of the sun’s energy in May 2012, and the first to break 30% module efficiency in 2011.
Amonix’s latest-generation CPV technology started in late February with outdoor testing, and ran until April of this year. The results from this period showed a peak operating efficiency of 36.2% measured on March 14, 2013, with a DNI of 876 W/m2, an ambient temperature of 16°C and instantaneous wind speed of 1 m/s.
Throughout the entire testing period, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) gave the Amonix module an outdoor efficiency rating of 34.9%, a new world record, under international standard operating conditions for concentrator photovoltaics of 900 W/m2, 20°C ambient temperature and 2m/s wind speed. This broke the previous 33.5% rated efficiency record also set by Amonix in May 2012.
The new module design incorporates Boeing Spectrolab 40% high-efficiency solar cells with Amonix’s proprietary CPV technology to achieve world record performance.
The Amonix Founder and CTO, Vahan Garboushian, is naturally very pleased with the new CPV system:
Amonix’s proprietary technology platform allows us to continue driving rapid performance improvements in our CPV system. The advances we have demonstrated over the last 2 years have all been with the same generation 40% cells, demonstrating an unprecedented cell to module conversion efficiency of greater than 90%. With improvements that are underway in cell efficiency and additional advances in our module technology, we will continue to drive efficiency higher over the coming years.
Amonix has one of the longest track records of real-world CPV deployments in the industry. It has raised the standards in designing and manufacturing concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar power systems that require no water in power production, use land better, and produce more energy per acre than any other solar technology.
