Perhaps you recall the name Konarka, an American solar tech company that’s been making waves with everything from a solar curtain wall to funky and functional Euro-styled solar bags.
Now, the company has announced that the National Energy Renewable Laboratory (NREL) has certified their organic based photovoltaic solar cells – known as Konarka Power Plastic – as having demonstrated a record breaking 8.3% efficiency.
According to Konarka, this is the highest performance ever recorded by NREL for an organic photovoltaic solar cell, a fact that clearly makes Howard Berke, chairman, CEO and co-founder of Konarka, very happy.
He cites Konarka’s progress in improved efficiencies over the last as “a milestone,” and highlights this unsurpassed NREL certification as a door-opener for Konarka Power Plastic in the commercial production of cost-effective, efficient power production in large scale applications.
Konarka Power Plastic is a thin film, flexible photovoltaic material that can utilize both indoor and outdoor light in producing direct current (DC) electrical energy, which can then be used on the spot, stored for later use, or converted to other forms.
The company sees applications for its technology in portable power, remote power and building-integrated applications, among others.
