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					</table><p>Researchers at the Japan-based <a href="https://www.global.toshiba/ww/top.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toshiba Corporation</a> announced a method of layering a transparent solar cell over a standard silicon cell to develop an efficient, low cost and a reliable tandem solar cell that raises the solar module output.</p>
<p>Solar cells are also widely used to power electric vehicles (EVs). The new cell is expected to boost the development of EVs that are not dependent on plug-ins for charging and also advance other mobility applications.</p>
<p>These tandem cells position a solar cell over a standard silicon cell, generating power at different wavelengths, raising areal output, and potentially boosting the efficiency of solar modules.</p>
<p>In a project supported by Japan&#8217;s New Energy and Industry Technology Development Organization, the researchers developed a transparent cuprous oxide (Cu2O) solar cell with the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.5%. The PCE was achieved by enlarging the cell and suppressing the carrier recombination in the edge of Cu2O generation later, which tends to degrade generation efficiency.</p>
<p>&#8220;We found that a larger cell size effectively suppresses photocarrier recombination,&#8221; said Kazushige Yamamoto from Toshiba&#8217;s Corporate Research &amp; Development Centre. &#8220;Increasing the power generation area from the previous 3&#215;3 sqmm to 10&#215;3 sqmm produced a relative reduction in recombination in the edge of cell, and the resulting increase in photocurrent pushed the PCE to 9.5%.&#8221;</p>
<p>In addition to Toshiba&#8217;s transparent Cu2O cell, researchers are also working on two other tandem cell technologies: fabrication with gallium arsenide (GaAs) or other III (gallium, aluminum, indium)-V (arsenic, phosphorus, nitrogen) materials; and perovskite crystal thin films. The production costs for the former range from several hundred to several thousand times the cost of a single silicon cell, severely restricting application. The thin films still cannot deliver the necessary reliability and guaranteed output for the 20-years-and-more life of a silicon cell.</p>
<p>Fabrication with naturally abundant materials helps cut costs, and the material is strong and moisture-resilient, guaranteeing reliability. This further opens the way to high-level power generation efficiency because of the light transmittance qualities.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-42212" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Schematic-of-Toshibas-Cu2O-Si-tandem-solar-cell.png" alt="Schematic of Toshiba’s Cu2O-Si tandem solar cell" width="433" height="312" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Schematic-of-Toshibas-Cu2O-Si-tandem-solar-cell.png 433w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Schematic-of-Toshibas-Cu2O-Si-tandem-solar-cell-300x216.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 433px) 100vw, 433px" /></p>
<p><strong>Tandem cells to power EVs </strong></p>
<p>Researchers have estimated that positioning the new Cu2O solar cell over a 25% PCE silicone cell realizes a Cu2O-Si tandem cell with a 28.5% PCE and surpasses 26.7% (the highest reported PCE for any standard silicon cell) and close to 29.1% (the highest reported PCE for any GaAs cell).</p>
<p>A one-time charge enabled the current Cu2O-Si tandem cell to power an EV for 37 kms. Further improvements in the solar cells towards the theoretical maximum efficiency of 42.3% are also expected to extend the range to a distance of up to 55 km. Both are recognized as practical distances for short trips without recharging and would reduce charging frequency for longer trips.</p>
<p>Toshiba targets a practical Cu2O-Si tandem cell with a 10% PCE Cu2O cell and an overall PCE of 30%. The new cell records solid progress towards that goal. The company is looking to mass production and is working to enlarge cell size. It has made a prototype with a power generation area of 40 sqmm and a PCE of around 8%.</p>
<p>While the efficiency in the larger cell remains unsatisfactory due to a less uniform layer, Toshiba says it will continue to refine thin film deposition technology for uniform deposition over a larger area.</p>
<p>Mercom had earlier <a href="https://mercomindia.com/conversion-efficiency-perovskite-silicon-solar-cell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin claimed to have set a new conversion efficiency record of 29.80% in a tandem solar cell made of perovskite and silicon.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gautamee Hazarika</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gautamee,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee.</a><br />
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<a href="gautamee@mercomindia.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gautamee@mercomindia.com</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">Gautamee</a> is a reporter at Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Gautamee was working as a multimedia news journalist at ThePrint in New Delhi. She has received her Bachelors in English Honors and Masters in English Literature from St.Stephen&#8217;s College, University of Delhi.<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee</a></div>
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Toshiba Announces Conversion Efficiency of 9.5% for Solar Cells Used in Charging EVs

<p><a href="http://www.toshiba.co.jp/worldwide/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Toshiba</a>, a Japan-based conglomerate, announced that it would not take any new orders for the construction work of coal-fired thermal facilities. The company is planning to shift towards renewable energy solutions.</p>
<p>Toshiba said that it would seek to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 from its base level of 2019. It also has plans to expand its renewable energy business to 650 billion yen (~$6.17 billion) by 2030, from 190 billion yen (~$1.80 billion) in 2019.</p>
<p>“We are planning to build a state-of-the-art windmill domestically to add wind power as a new area of focus. To prepare ourselves for future energy storage demands, we are developing secondary batteries and participating in a world-class pilot program in Fukushima, Japan. With respect to carbon dioxide utilization, we commence the operation of a large-scale carbon capture facility in Fukuoka, Japan,” said Nobuaki Kurumatani, President and Chief Executive Officer of Toshiba.</p>
<p>According to Toshiba, the company will support the infrastructure sector&#8217;s transformation to achieve decarbonization goals. It also aims to commercialize its newly developed next-generation tandem and perovskite solar cells by 2025.</p>
<p>Toshiba recently established a new company with a European virtual power project operator Next Kraftwerke for its virtual power business.</p>
<p>This comes on the heels of a recent <a href="https://mercomindia.com/after-china-japan-pledge-carbon-neutral/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announcement</a> by Japan, the world’s third-largest economy,  that it plans to become carbon-neutral by 2050.</p>
<p>Coal is losing its ground as several companies are ending their support for new coal-fired power facilities. Recently, Germany’s Siemens Energy also <a href="https://mercomindia.com/siemens-energy-to-stop-support/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> that it would stop support for new coal-fired power projects.</p>
<p>Similarly, General Electric (GE), a U.S.-based multinational conglomerate, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/general-electric-ditch-coal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> its plans to exit the new build coal power market. The company said that it would focus and invest in its renewable energy and power generation businesses.</p>
<p>Mercom earlier <a href="https://mercomindia.com/ntpc-stop-land-acquisition-coal-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that India’s largest coal-fired power generator, NTPC Ltd, also aims to transform itself into the country’s biggest renewable energy producer and refrain from acquiring land for new thermal power projects.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Harsh Shukla</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Harsh-Shukla-293x300-1-new.jpg" width="99" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Harsh Shukla</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/">More articles from Harsh Shukla.</a></p>
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Japan’s Toshiba to Stop Taking Construction Orders for Coal-Fired Plants

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