Cogenra Solar has unveiled PV modules that break the power output world records. Using commercially available, unsorted PV solar cells and its propriety high-volume Dense Cell Interconnect (DCI) process, Cogenra Solar successfully increase its PV Modules’ power output up to 400W. The achievement is expected to drive down balance of system (BOS) and soft costs to accelerate next phase of solar growth.
“The era of module efficiency has arrived,” said Cogenra Solar CEO and founder, Dr. Gilad Almogy. “In recent years, scale has been the main driver of cost reductions. Now is the time for the solar industry to revisit performance innovations to continue driving down the cost of solar and drive market expansion. Cogenra is ushering in this new era with innovative module technology that leverages the nearly 60GW of existing low-cost cell capacity.”
Cogenra modules reached 400W peak power using front-contact mono-crystalline silicon cells and 352W using multi-crystalline cells, representing a nearly 15% boost over current 72-cell format modules. These world records were independently verified by the Renewable Energy Test Center (RETC) and build on Cogenra’s previously announced records for 60-cell format modules.
“Cogenra’s higher module power enables us to get more power off of the roof, reducing overall installation costs and better meeting the customers’ energy demands,” said Patrick Sterns, VP of Commercial Sales at Solar Technologies in San Ramon, CA.
Current solar modules use ribbon interconnects, which shade the silicon cells from sunlight, lead to resistance losses and are a major source of power degradation. Cogenra’s patent-pending DCI technology rewires the PV module by efficiently connecting cells on the module, eliminating the need for ribbons, solder-joints and inter-cell gaps. Cogenra is currently ramping up California-based production line, with DCI modules available in volume starting in April. Cogenra’s DCI technology is field proven, and is currently in operation in a 1MW solar array at University of Arizona’s SolarZone.