Energy Innovations Achieves World-Leading Efficiency with New Sunflower HCPV System

Pasadena, California-based Energy Innovations, Inc., announced that its latest generation Sunflower module has achieved a world leading 29% conversion efficiency – almost double the average efficiency of flat plate photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Energy Innovations is a manufacturer of high concentration solar modules and systems. Founded in 2001 at Idealab, the company pioneered the development of highly concentrated PV (HCPV) as a means to reduce the cost of solar energy. Energy Innovations developed the world’s highest concentration, most efficient,  and lowest cost HCPV system. By taking a holistic approach to system design, the company integrates the Sunflower 29% efficient module, 2-axis tracker, mounting structure and primary wiring, significantly reducing installation time and total installed costs.

According to Joe Budano, CEO of Energy Innovations, this 29% conversion efficiency is a significant achievement that represents the culmination of substantial research and development work across a broad range of disciplines including advanced optics designs, cell thermal management, tracking systems design, and automated robotic assembly techniques.

Only with a fully integrated system approach, as employed in the Sunflower HCPV system, Budano said, can this type of world-leading performance be achieved.

“Energy Innovations’ Sunflower HCPV system makes solar more cost-effective, more powerful and a smart investment," Budano said. “Achieving this world-leading efficiency is another example of the advantages our proprietary HCPV architecture provides. We are now starting to see real commercial products delivering on the promise of CPV, for today and into the future.”

There are many other improvements on the horizon. Energy Innovations’ Sunflower system uses proprietary silicone on glass (SoG) Fresnel lenses and advanced secondary optics to focus the sun 1,200:1 onto high efficiency triple junction cells. Current generation triple junction cells operate at greater than 38% efficiency. For example, Spectrolab, an Energy Innovations supplier, recently announced a 41.6% efficient triple junction cell that will further enhance the performance of the Sunflower system.

“The rapidly increasing performance of triple junction cells in combination with Energy Innovation’s aggressive cost down program is the multiplier effect that substantially reduces our installed dollar per watt,” said Gregg Bone, CTO of Energy Innovations. “This clearly demonstrates how our Sunflower HCPV technology will offer lower cost of energy compared with traditional thin film and crystalline silicon PV over the long term.”