Photo source: Engadget
An experimental design reduced light emission from an organic solar cell and raised its efficiency by around 0.85%, suggesting a possible route beyond the current theoretical limit.
Researchers at the Institut de Ciències Fotòniques (ICFO) have developed a solar-cell design that targets energy lost when panels emit light, known as Boltzmann loss. Earlier research has focused on reducing energy lost as heat.
This is reported by Engadget.
In a paper published in Energy & Environmental Science, the researchers addressed “the mismatch between the narrow sunlight absorption and the wider emission cones” of solar panels. They used an organic solar cell, replacing its indium tin oxide front electrode with a thin silver one and turning the cell into an optical cavity. The design still let sunlight in but emitted less light at wide angles. It improved the cell’s efficiency by around 0.85%.
Dr. Francisco Bernal Texca, the study’s first author, said in an IFCO press release:
If the emission cone can be narrowed to more closely match the absorption cone of incoming sunlight, which is exactly what our work demonstrates experimentally, solar cells will, in principle, be able to approach efficiencies close to 43%.
– Dr. Francisco Bernal Texca
The current theoretical efficiency limit, known as the Shockley-Queisser limit, is 33.16%. ICFO says its method could make efficiencies of roughly 43% possible. Consumer solar panels typically operate at 20 to 23%, but the research does not mean more efficient panels will be available to buy immediately. The underlying principle should apply to different kinds of photovoltaic cells, not only materials used in laboratories.
In July 2026, Chinese firm LONGi unveiled a solar cell with 35.5% efficiency and claimed that the PV cell it uses is also theoretically capable of reaching 43%.
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