North American startup Antra Energy will begin production of photovoltaic thermocells at its Sunnyvale, California plant.

these cells thermal photovoltaic They will be used in thermal storage solutions, and the efficiency can reach 40%.

Thermal solar cells

According to the CEO of Antora Energy, The cells are based on III-V semiconductors, which outperform conventional solar cells and produce 100 times more power than similar sized devices.; “Cells can convert any high-temperature heat source into electricity, and their most important application is energy storage,” adds Andrew Bonnick.

What is thermal technology?

Thermal photovoltaics is an energy generation technology that uses thermal radiation to generate electricity through photovoltaics.

This system uses a heat emitter capable of reaching temperatures in the order of 1000°C, and a diode photovoltaic solar cell that absorbs photons from a heat source.

This technology has intrigued researchers for several years, due to its ability to capture sunlight in a much wider range than that can only be achieved with conventional photovoltaics.

However, the efficiencies achieved so far have been so low, that their use on a more commercial scale is not possible, due to the significant heat loss.

The words come from Antora Energy clear:

“To date, thermal photovoltaic technology has not achieved the level of efficiency required to compete with conventional heat engines or the manufacturing requirements necessary to mass-produce the technology. Now, Antora has surpassed each of these critical thresholds, achieving heat-to-electricity conversion efficiencies of over 40% and demonstrating The ability to manufacture photovoltaic thermoelectric technology on a large scale.”

This startup was funded by the Department of Advanced Energy Research Projects in the United States of America, with the aim of developing this technology in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. It’s fair to say the funding was very well spent, given the results, which are now public.

Video – A photovoltaic thermal cell is more efficient than a thermal turbine

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