Amonix Inc., the leading designer and manufacturer of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar power systems, announced today that it has successfully converted more than 36% of direct sunlight into electricity. A module showcasing Amonix’s latest-generation CPV technology has been in outdoor testing from late February to April of this year. During this period, the Amonix module demonstrated a peak operating efficiency of 36.2% measured on March 14, 2013 with a DNI of 876 W/m2, an ambient temperature of 16°C and instantaneous wind speed of 1 m/s, breaking the previous 34.2% peak efficiency set by Amonix in May 2012.
Over the entire testing period, the Amonix module earned a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) outdoor efficiency rating of 34.9%, a new world record, under international standard operating conditions for concentrator photovoltaics of 900 W/m2, 20°C ambient temperature and 2m/s wind speed, breaking the previous 33.5% rated efficiency record also set by Amonix in May 2012. The module uses Boeing Spectrolab 40% high efficiency solar cells and Amonix’s proprietary CPV technology to achieve world record performance.
This result continues Amonix’s long history of leading the world in solar module efficiency, having been the first to convert over 1/3rd of the sun’s energy in May 2012, and the first to break 30% module efficiency in 2011.
“Amonix’s proprietary technology platform allows us to continue driving rapid performance improvements in our CPV system,” said Vahan Garboushian, Amonix Founder and CTO. “The advances we have demonstrated over the last 2 years have all been with the same generation 40% cells, demonstrating an unprecedented cell to module conversion efficiency of greater than 90%. With improvements that are underway in cell efficiency and additional advances in our module technology, we will continue to drive efficiency higher over the coming years.”