CEA Achieves 23.9% HJT Cell Efficiency

• France's CEA has reported 23.9% HJT solar PV cell conversion efficiency on its industrial pilot line
• It managed this efficiency on its industrial pilot line with production equipment supplied by Meyer Burger
• The conversion efficiency is certified by Germany's CalTec-ISFH
• CEA also manufactured HJT module with peak power of 348 W and assembled it with help of Meyer Burger's SWCT interconnection technology

The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) achieved a 23.9% heterojunction (HJT) PV cell conversion efficiency on its industrial pilot line at the French National Institute of Solar Energy using industrial HJT production equipment supplied by Meyer Burger.

The CEA team manufactured 5-busbar cells on this equipment that can produce cells at a rate of 2400 cells an hour. It achieved the 23.9% efficiency over the whole surface of a standard size cell (244 cm²). Germany's CalTec-ISFH certified the efficiency.

CEA says these results are in line with a roadmap that forecasts that efficiencies of 25% will be achieved industrially in the next 3 to 5 years. Current crop of solar cells coming out of PV panel factories is around 19%, it pointed out.

Along with reporting this conversion efficiency, a heterojunction module with a peak power of 348 W was also manufactured using 120 HJT half-cells and measured under standard conditions of IEC 60904. A best quality module using 60 cells being used in the market today can generate around 320 W with PERC technology in the same configuration, according to CEA. CEA assembled the cells developed and manufactured on its pilot line in close collaboration with Meyer Burger. This module result was achieved using cells with an average conversion efficiency of 23.25% with optimized metallization and interconnection using MeyerBurger's SmartWire Connection Technology (SWCT) process.