ASCA increases organic solar cell efficiency

By using new semiconductor materials, organic solar cell expert ASCA has increased the efficiency of its modules by 40%. The new components were supplied by Taiwanese company Raynergy Tek.

Raynergy Tek specialises in developing organic semiconductor materials for organic photovoltaic (OPV) modules, such as non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs). With an efficiency record of around 20% in laboratory cells, they are said to promise significantly higher performance than conventional acceptors.

Now, ASCA has succeeded in integrating NFA-based materials into its prefabrication for the first time. Using materials supplied by Raynergy Tek, the company has been able to increase the efficiency of its semi-transparent free-form solar modules to around 70 W/m².

“We have been able to confirm our laboratory results in industrial production tests,” said Dr Sebastian Meier, Vice President of Corporate Development and Partner Management at ASCA. The company is now working to complete implementation of the materials so the updated OPV modules will be available by the end of 2022 at the latest.

“With the class of NFAs, we are unlocking the potential of making significant progress in efficiency values in the medium term as well,” Dr Meier said.

The news follows ASCA experiments in 2020 under low-light conditions, which found that OPV cells with semiconductor materials from Raynergy Tek achieved efficiency of 26%. Initial results show that the material now being introduced achieves similar values under low light.

ASCA and Raynergy Tek have been working closely together since 2014, and the companies have now entered into a partnership agreement to strengthen their joint developments. Raynergy Tek CEO Dr Phoebe Tan said her company was pleased to intensify its cooperation with ASCA, stating, “Together, we have the necessary expertise to further advance the development of high-performance OPV modules.”

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