Yesterday, we reported that Sharp is ready to invest $180 million in a new plant near Osaka to mass-produce solar cells. And now, just 24 hours later, we have yet another positive news item from the green energy front: Sanyo today announced it will start mass-producing a new type of solar cell, too.
What’s interesting is that (according to Sanyo), their so-called HIT cells boast the the world’s highest cell conversion efficiency of 21.6% (Sharp’s models can “only” convert about 17% of sun light into electricity). It’s worth noting that back in September, Sharp showed a solar cell with even 42.1% efficiency – but that’s still just a prototype.
Sanyo’s HIT-N240SE10 (240W, module efficiency: 19%) was made by redesigning the tabs and using anti-reflection coated glass. The company plans to start sales in Europe in February next year.