IBM announces partnership to evolve solar cell efficiency
by Stevie Smith – Jun 17 200
Source: The Tech Herald
http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/200825/1262/
IBM-announces-partnership-to-evolve-solar-cell-efficiency
Multinational computing corporation International Business Machines (IBM) has this week announced a partnership with photolithography specialist Tokyo Ohka Kogya (TOK), which will see the two parties pooling their resources in an effort to produce a new generation of solar energy products. Specifically aimed at establishing new, low-cost methods of manufacturing that will lead to cheaper products that are also easier to install than those available today, TOK and IBM will be looking to develop processes, materials and equipment suitable for the creation of the somewhat unfortunately named CIGS solar cell modules.
CIGS (or Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenide) cell modules consist of a thin-film technology that has shown great promise in the solar energy field and could potentially inspire more widespread consumer adoption of alternative solar energy via the emergence of considerably cheaper solar cell technology.
According to IBM, current thin-film product performance provides from between 6 percent and 12 percent energy efficiency, while its new non-vacuum, solution-based CIGS process is targeting minimum efficiency levels of 15 percent. By penning this partnership deal, New York-based technology giant IBM is looking to add TOK’s years of industry experience crafting semiconductors and LCD panels in order to help propel CIGS cell panel technology into mass production.
“Our goal is to develop more efficient photovoltaic structures that would reduce the cost, minimize the complexity, and improve the flexibility of producing solar electric power,” outlined Dr. Tze-Chiang Chen, IBM Vice President of Science and Technology. That progress will likely herald from the fact that CIGS solar cells can be 100 times thinner than current silicon wafer cells, which are more expansive and less efficient in their energy conversion process.
Unlike silicon wafer, CIGS can be deposited on cheap glass substrates, which lowers manufacturing cost substantially. The thin-film technology can also be used with much more production adaptability thanks to it being suitable for arrangement on flexible backing, which also eliminates many of the typical high energy and equipment-intensive processes connected with photovoltaic manufacturing.
In related news, IBM has also announced additional photovoltaic research connected to several avenues of energy use and environmental consideration. This research will include the production of energy efficient technology and services, carbon management, advanced water management, intelligent utility networks and intelligent transportation systems.