Solar power is the world’s fastest-growing energy source and is expected to reach 17,000 terawatt-hours of capacity by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. But to go further, solar needs new ways to overcome efficiency limits. Two emerging technologies, quantum dots and gallium nitride (GaN), are now being seen as game-changers.
Quantum dots are tiny particles that can control how light is used. By changing their size, they can turn sunlight into colors that solar panels absorb better, helping the panels make more energy. Companies like UbiQD, in partnership with First Solar, are already testing this technology in large-scale modules.
They are also bringing it into solar windows, where quantum-dot-treated glass can absorb sunlight and send it to hidden solar cells at the edges. This allows buildings to generate power without changing their appearance.
Quantum dots help panels catch more sunlight, while GaN makes it easier to turn that sunlight into electricity. Old inverters use silicon, which works more slowly and creates more heat.
GaN makes electricity flow faster and with less waste, which helps inverters run smaller, cooler, and more reliably. Enphase has launched a GaN-based microinverter that works with each solar panel separately, so if one panel is shaded or not working well, the others still perform normally.
These microinverters have safety features such as shutting down quickly in an emergency, detecting the fault, and remote monitoring, which lowers maintenance costs.
In this, small improvements can save a lot of money in big projects. In the long term, quantum dots and GaN will be important for the future of solar power.
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