- Reflect10 solar panel geometry increases daily energy production by 20%
- Cells capture more sunlight during hours of low angle and cloudy conditions
- The efficiency limits of silicon panels are approaching – that’s big news
Canadian startup Reflect10 has introduced a new photovoltaic (PV) module architecture that could significantly increase how much energy solar panels could produce, and it has nothing to do with maximum wattage.
Instead, the upgrade embeds a light-reflecting geometry directly into the solar panel to reflect incoming sunlight multiple times, giving photons additional opportunities to hit the PV cells. Enabling additional reflections and angles means solar panels can convert even more sunlight into electricity when the sun sets at lower angles.
Although the concept as a whole already existed, it previously required exterior mirrors or motors, making installation more expensive. Various studies indicated improvements in energy production of between 11% and 57%.
The same panel, with the same wattage, could produce 20% more capacity
According to the company, it can lead to 20% higher average daily energy production compared to standard solar panels, with low-angle times like early morning and late afternoon generating up to 2.66 times more power. The technology also promises to increase efficiency in conditions with diffused light, such as cloudy weather.
This upgrade also comes at an important time because conventional silicon solar cells are rapidly approaching their theoretical efficiency ceiling, making it nearly impossible to produce more electricity.
“These results represent a significant and immediate step forward at a time when the industry has faced a fundamental physical ceiling for decades,” said founder Louis Massicotte (via pv magazine).
According to the company, the global solar industry has grown by an average of +0.18 percentage points in efficiency per year under real field conditions since 1954, marking very slow progress.
Ultimately, Reflect10 increases panel efficiency not by boosting the cell efficiency itself, but rather by allowing more light to hit the cells. Ultimately, this means that a 500W panel, for example, could produce 500W of electricity more of the time instead of being limited to a smaller watt due to unfavorable conditions, leading to a higher overall capacity (measured in kWh).
Proven efficiency-enhancing PV technology could tackle current restrictions
Although test data comes primarily from optical simulations by Canada’s National Optics Institute, the company has also conducted proof-of-concept field trials to prove it works across both Morocco and Canada.
An independent scientific review by the Île-de-France Photovoltaic Institute (IPVF) also notes the technology’s potential to scale and close gaps in grid shortages across a wider range of times – not just during peak hours.
“By increasing production at the beginning and end of the day, the technology can help better match periods of peak electricity demand while reducing the concentration of production around the peak of the midday sun,” commented IPVF research director Pere Roca in Cabarrocas.
The company is now pursuing three international applications for patent cooperation ahead of the public presentation in Paris.
Reflect10 does not plan to manufacture panels with the new light-reflecting geometry itself – instead, the Canadian company is offering 50 non-exclusive licenses of its intellectual property to module manufacturers.
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