CIGSe: Highest efficiency in the thin-film world

Scientists have achieved efficiencies greater than 20% using laboratory solar cells with CIGSe absorbers. CIGSe is therefore the only thin-film material that can match polycrystalline silicon in terms of efficiency. The laboratory results are pointing the way for Soltecture’s technologists. They are working to close the gap between the industrial application of CIGSe technology and polycrystalline material and thus combine the cost benefits of thin-film technology with the efficiency of the conventional technology. In 2010, for example, the first CIGSe solar modules were manufactured that achieved a 12.6% efficiency across the 0.75 m² surface area of the Soltecture modules; the best small-scale solar cells from the same production even achieved 14%. An important step has therefore been achieved. At the same time, the gap between the laboratory and production results is still so large that there is considerable scope for further improvements – far more than with the rival thin-film technologies made of cadmium telluride or silicon.

Find out more about how we have continually increased the efficiency and what we are planning next:

CIGS: High yields thanks to maximum heat tolerance

Exemplary alculation

Efficiency is not everything. Although it measures a solar module’s rated output in watt-peak, it does not in itself define how many kilowatt-hours are provided by a solar power system. The performance of the solar power system is determined not just by the efficiency but also by its tolerance to heat, its behaviour during low or diffuse light conditions, the type of inverter and the system design. The ideal choice of module depends on its location and orientation.

CIGS modules are particularly advantageous in hot locations. Here the output from solar modules made of crystalline silicon drops by a considerable amount. CIGS modules, on the other hand, continue to work further and supply the user with many additional kilowatt-hours of solar power per installed output.

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You can find more information about the efficiency, rated output and energy yield here.