Chinese company LONGi says it has created crystalline silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells that reach 35.5 percent conversion efficiency.
The achievement was verified by the European Solar Test Installation, a reference laboratory for photovoltaic devices. LONGi first reached 33.9 percent efficiency in November 2023 and 34.6 percent in June 2024 before the latest gain.
Most commercial solar cells operate near 25 percent efficiency, according to the US Energy Information Administration. LONGi states that its technology holds the world record for this type of tandem cell, which theoretically could reach 43 percent.
A cell developed by the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory achieved 39.5 percent efficiency in 2022, though for different applications. LONGi emphasized that commercializing higher-efficiency cells remains the key challenge.