IBM, Partner Aim To Cut Solar-Cell Production Costs

IBM is collaborating with Tokyo Ohka Kogyo to develop thin-film techniques that promise to make the next generation of photovoltaic devices more affordable as well as easier to install.

The companies plan to jointly develop the processes, materials and equipment needed to make highly efficient solar-cell modules based on an exotic compound known as Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenide (CIGS).
“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 ,” said IBM Research Vice President Dr. Tze-Chiang Chen. “IBM’s advanced technology, combined with TOK’s expertise in equipment design and manufacture, have the potential to broaden the use of alternative energy sources.”

IBM says it has already developed CIGS-based solar cells capable of achieving efficiencies of more than about 15 percent. By contrast, today’s solar cells — which largely rely on conventional silicon to convert sunlight into electricity — only achieve efficiencies of about six to 12 percent.

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