Coming built with conventional silicon-based solar cells and perovskite-based solar battery cell, the Tandem dual solar cell system boasts of an energy conversion efficiency rate of approximately 23.6% in what the research team said is close to the world’s record.

The working theory is straightforward. As the two different solar cells have different characteristics, they absorb light rays of different wavelengths. This allows them to more of solar energy than one single layer solar cell system of silicon wafers.

For example, conventional silicon-based solar cells today can convert sunlight spectrum between 300~1100nm.

As the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun has spectrum between approximately 0.0001nm up to 100m, more solar energy can be converted into electricity by using or adding other materials.

Led by professor Suk Sang Il, the UNIST’s research team excels in manufacturing perovskite-based solar battery cell.

Perovskite is a next-generation high efficient photovoltaic material that has high energy conversion efficiency.

The research team aims to improve the new tandem battery cell’s conversion efficiency up to 25% and commercialize it by 2020.

The tandem solar battery cell was first developed by joint research team of Oxford University and Stanford University in February, 2017.