The PV industry is driven by technological development. Continuous breakthroughs in high efficiency and improvements in series production have provided s steady stream of momentum for the development of the industry.
The earliest PERC (Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell) originated in the 1980s. In 1989, a research team of Martin Green at University of New South Wales, Australia, published the PERC cell structure for the first time in the Applied Physics Letter. At that time, the cell reached 22.8% efficiency in laboratory tests. By 1999, the team achieved a world record of PERC conversion efficiency of 25%, surprised the entire world.
With continuous advancements, PERC cell technology realized explosive development in 2017. Competitions among industrial leaders in the field of technological innovation continuously generated breakthroughs in efficiency improvement and cost reduction, and it is obvious that PERC technology has become a rising star in the global PV industry.
With more than two decades of development and also the maturity of technology and equipment, PERC began its industrialization, and today turned itself into the most powerful competitor among next-generation mainstream cell technologies in mass production. There are distinct advantages in performance and cost control of PERC cells, and 1% more efficiency can be achieved in compatible with the existing cell and module production lines. It has become the first high-efficient cell technology to achieve a large-scale commercial breakthrough.
According to PERC Solar Cell Technology (2018 Edition) published by TaiyangNews recently, “PERC has just arrived, is now establishing itself, and doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon. First of all, PERC just reached less than 20% market share in 2017, and might, if all goes well and our optimistic estimates are correct, reach around 45% this year. This leaves still quite some room to grow.”
Furthermore, cell manufacturers, including LONGi Solar, are continuing in developing PERC technology, and significantly improving the efficiency and making it the mainstream cell technology in the next three years of global PV market. On June 20, 2018, Intersolar Europe, a global PV show will open in Munich, Germany. It is expected that PERC will be a highlight of PV cell and module products and therefore, monocrystalline – supported with advantages of PERC - will become a focus of attention in this exhibition.
As a global leading monocrystalline PV manufacturer with technology as its core competitiveness, LONGi Solar invested substantially in R & D and persisted in technological innovation of high-efficiency products for many years. Many world records were set by LONGi Solar in PERC cell and module technology. LONGi Solar is leading the development of PERC technology in the industry with high-power, low-degradation and high-yield products. The company will showcase its portfolio of PERC products to Intersolar Europe, providing the PV market with new options with lower LCOE.