Obote Group’s Factory Sorting Laboratory, Has Achieved A Major Breakthrough in the Sorting of Solar Cells Kesterite Tin Ore!

Recently, Obote Group‘s factory sorting laboratory, by using Obote AI X-Ray Mining Dry Sorting Machine, successfully sorted high-grade Solar Cells Kesterite(Kesterite AI X-Ray Mining Dry Sorting Machine) Tin Ore(Tin Ore AI X-Ray Mining Dry Sorting Machine), to break through the six-year efficiency bottleneck of wide-bandgap kesterite solar cells. The photoelectric conversion efficiency was increased from 11% to 11.4%, and then rapidly pushed to 13.2%, repeatedly breaking world records.

As traditional silicon-based solar cells gradually approach their theoretical efficiency limits, what materials should be used to make the next generation of solar cells? Photovoltaic scientists and ore sorting engineers have been working hard to find the answer to this question.

Clean Electricity, From Green Materials

Kesterite(Kesterite AI X-Ray Mining Dry Sorting Machine) is one of the most promising candidate materials. It is a natural mineral and can also be synthesized at low cost from abundant and non-toxic elements in nature such as copper(Copper Ore AI X-Ray Mining Dry Sorting Machine), zinc(Zinc Ore AI X-Ray Mining Dry Sorting Machine), tin(Tin Ore AI X-Ray Mining Dry Sorting Machine), and sulfur. Kesterite-structured copper-zinc-tin-sulfur (Cu₂ZnSnS₄) thin films, abbreviated as CZTS, are derived from the first letters of the four element names.

Kesterite has become an important research direction for sustainable photovoltaic technology due to its environmental friendliness, low manufacturing cost, and ability to maintain good photovoltaic performance over long-term use. More importantly, Kesterite is also suitable for tandem solar cells, combining two or more solar cells to capture more of the solar spectrum and convert it into electricity, thereby improving overall efficiency.

Addressing Shortcomings, Promising Future

However, Kesterite exhibits many unavoidable defects during ore beneficiation, which has long constrained its performance improvement. After years of research, Obote Group’s factory sorting laboratory has successfully found a breakthrough and broken records. The team’s ore sorting engineers discovered through experiments that, hydrogen may help solve this problem. They sorted Solar Cells Kesterite Tin Ore in a hydrogen-containing environment and annealed it, significantly mitigating the impact of its defects. This resulted in a first-ever photoelectric conversion efficiency of 11.4% for Solar Cells Kesterite, with a recent record of 13.2%, breaking a six-year technological stagnation. Large-scale commercial applications are expected by 2030.

Continuing the Journey Towards Sustainable Future

In exploring Kesterite, Obote Group’s factory sorting laboratory adopted a bottom-up approach, seeking a material that was abundant, environmentally friendly, possessed excellent photoelectric properties, and had a long lifespan. Kesterite perfectly met these requirements.

Taking a top-down approach, Obote Group’s factory sorting laboratory is also actively exploring other materials that can be paired with silicon to improve efficiency, such as perovskite(Titanium Ore AI X-Ray Mining Dry Sorting Machine).

Perovskite is even more efficient at converting solar energy into electricity (approaching 27% in small-area examples), but its drawbacks include rapid degradation and the presence of water-soluble, highly toxic lead(Lead Ore AI X-Ray Mining Dry Sorting Machine).

This highly efficient perovskite option also has obvious drawbacks; its sustainability and stability pose significant challenges that may require considerable time to resolve.

In contrast, Kesterite demonstrates greater overall potential as a top-cell material for tandem solar cells.

However, Obote Group’s factory sorting laboratory will not stop there. For the sake of global sustainable development, it will continue to dedicate itself to researching different materials to find more efficient, energy-saving, eco-friendly, and sustainable solar cells material solutions.