Organic solar battery sets record for converting sunlight to energy in Chinese study

An organic solar battery developed by Chinese scientists has set a record for converting sunlight into electricity, a major step forward in using these cheaper cells for real-world applications.

The team achieved a power conversion rate of 17 per cent – the highest recorded for an organic solar battery and the closest to the 18 to 22 per cent rate of commercially used silicon solar cells, according to a study published in Science on Thursday.

That high conversion rate could help put organic solar cells into commercial use in less than five years, said Chen Yongsheng, a chemistry professor at Nankai University in Tianjin and a lead scientist on the study.

Silicon has long been the top choice for solar panels because it made the conversion most efficiently. Organic photovoltaics are made from carbon and plastic – meaning they are cheaper and easier to manufacture than those made from silicon – but their use has been limited because they were less efficient at turning sunlight into energy, Chen said.

But the conversion rate has been improving rapidly in recent months. In April, researchers at the University of Michigan managed to turn 15 per cent of the sunlight hitting their organic solar cells into power.

Now, Chen and his team have gone higher, and they believe it could go up to 25 per cent.

“Organic solar cells are considered an option to address green energy demands due to their low cost and flexibility,” he said. “However, the materials of these cells tend to have a limited sunlight absorption range.”