After announcing the company’s plan to become Japan’s largest solar manufacturer and one of the top players in the domestic solar industry, Sanyo claimed that it has developed a new type of flexible solar cell that is thinner than a human hair.
According to the company, it will benefit greatly from a new feed-in tariff program by the Japanese government introduced this month for green energy firms. Another factor for Sanyo’s self-confidence should be the speed with which it innovates.
Their new solar cell measures just 58 micrometers in thickness, about one-fourth of most solar cells currently out there. It is made using two types of silicon, being designed to optimize the conversion efficiency that should reach 22%.
Company officials claim that the cells could be used for a variety of purposes (on uneven surfaces), being as flexible as paper. Unlike other solar cells available on the market today, Sanyo’s new prototype will cost 25% less. The company plans to commercialize the solar cells by 2020, having the chance to revolutionize the solar industry.
[Source: CrunchGear]
