Concentrating, or magnifying solar energy – the concept is so simple, but as always, the devil lies in the detail. Archimedes tried it in the second century BC to burn Roman ships with a solar “death ray”. Modern concentrated photovoltaic solar power (CPV) uses the same idea, focusing sunlight onto solar panels that track the sun as it moves through the sky. The aim is to get more “bang for your solar buck” by minimising the amount of expensive solar cells while maximising sun exposure.
Solar technology company HyperSolar Inc. say they have invented the world’s first thin and flat solar energy concentrator technology that could be incorporated by manufacturers of existing flat solar panels, claiming a electricity output boost of 300 percent.
Traditional silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells used in standard solar panels can only convert so much magnified sunlight into electricity. Modern CPV plants employ super-efficient allium arsenide solar cells, which can handle much higher magnification levels. HyperSolar says its concentrator technology will be tailored to offer varying levels of magnification to suit different types of solar panels.
HyperSolar CEO Tim Young believes that once a fully developed solar concentrator is available on the global market it could reduce the number of solar cells needed in a conventional solar panel by 75 percent, greatly reducing the cost per watt of electricity generated.
“Our ultimate goal is to develop an inexpensive and thin solar concentrator for use in replacing expensive solar cells in conventional flat solar panels. While this initial prototype is designed to provide 300% light magnification, we are aiming for at least 400% in our final commercial product.”
