한국전자기술연구원(KETI, 원장 신희동)이 고효율 투명 태양 집광판(Luminescent solar concentrator, LSC)이 적용된 투명 태양전지의 발전 성능을 세계 최고 성능까지 끌어올릴 수 있는 원천기술을 개발하고, 관련 내용을 광학 분야의 국제 학술지에 게재했다.

▲Windows with quantum dot transparent solar cell modules applied
Achieved more than twice the power generation efficiency compared to existing products
Securing renewable energy by applying soundproof walls and soundproof tunnels
The world's highest-performance transparent solar cell source technology has been developed using domestic technology, and expectations are high that it will contribute to securing new and renewable energy in the future.
The Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI, President Shin Hee-dong) announced on the 18th that it has developed a source technology that can raise the power generation performance of transparent solar cells using high-efficiency transparent luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) to the world's highest performance and published the related content in an international academic journal in the field of optics.
The global solar cell industry is in a full-scale technological competition to improve power generation efficiency and price competitiveness, and in particular, existing silicon-based solar cells are approaching the theoretical efficiency limit in terms of cost reduction and productivity improvement.
To solve this problem, high value-added functional solar cell technologies are being developed, but the ratio of increased costs to improved performance is higher, which has become an obstacle to the adoption of new technologies.
Transparent solar cells are a technology that can create high added value by being combined with building windows, car sunroofs, and electronic devices, and have very high potential for use as a convergence solar cell technology.
In particular, in advanced cities with dense buildings, more sunlight enters the windows on the walls of buildings than on rooftops, so window-type transparent solar cell technology (BIP) can actively utilize this.V, Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) has been confirmed to be a key technology that can supplement urban power consumption.
This time, the transparent solar cell source technology disclosed by KETI Display Research Center applied advanced quantum dot materials and lossless optical waveguide technology to a transparent window-type light collecting plate with high transmittance, demonstrating that power generation is possible with an efficiency of 7.6% from solar cells attached to the side of a window.
According to Dr. Kyung-Won Park (principal researcher) who led the technology development, the research team not only more than doubled the efficiency of transparent solar cells, which was previously at the 3% level, but also confirmed the possibility of manufacturing large-area transparent solar cells the size of 1 m2.
In addition, the research results were published in the latest issue of Nature Photonics (IF=39.728), a world-renowned academic journal in the field of optics (published online on 1/11).
“If the transparent solar cell developed by KETI is applied to road noise barriers or soundproof tunnels, it will be possible to secure renewable energy without land costs,” said Han Chul-jong, head of the Display Research Center and corresponding author of this paper. “Since quantum dot technology has sufficient intellectual property rights and know-how accumulated in the Korean display industry, it will be able to secure a significant lead in the solar cell field and lead the global market.”
This research was conducted with the support of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Materials and Components Technology Development Project, the Electronic Components Industry Technology Development Project, the New and Renewable Energy Core Technology Development Project, and the Ministry of Science and ICT's Materials Innovation Leading Project.