Panasonic has reached a milestone with the manufacturing of its high-efficiency, original photovoltaic module HIT. Since debuting the patented, high-efficiency photovoltaic module in 1997, Panasonic has produced over 18 million modules of HIT, providing clean, affordable energy to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world.
The landmark achievement cements Panasonic’s unique heterojunction technology as one of the cornerstones of high-efficiency innovation in the global solar market. The company’s pioneering heterojunction solar cells use a combination of monocrystalline and amorphous solar technologies to delivering greater solar energy, combined with unmatched product reliability and outstanding manufacturing quality.
“Panasonic is very proud to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of producing Photovoltaic Module HIT,” stated Kazuhiro Yoshida, Director of Panasonic Solar Systems Business Unit. “When we began manufacturing this patented technology our vision was to create a better world and help accelerate the world’s much-needed adoption of clean energy. We now feel more and more responsible for this original vision even after 20 years and will do our best possible efforts to go beyond the technological boundaries of photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency.”
Across 20 years of production, HIT has broken various solar efficiency world records. In 2014, Panasonic’s original heterojunction cell became the first crystalline based solar cell to break the 25% efficiency barrier for practical sized cells, paving the way for greater levels of solar energy generation. The most recent record breaking was the achievement of 23.8% module efficiency in R&D last March, which was the world’s highest module conversion efficiency at the time of announcement.
HIT has also empowered Panasonic to explore numerous initiatives aimed at advancing the application and generation of solar power including solar cars, cargo vessels and mobile lights for the developing world. This technology is practically in place at Panasonic’s Sustainable Smart Town (SST) in Fujisawa, Japan, housing approximately 10,000 residents. The newly developed carbon-neutral town is located around 40 miles south of Tokyo. Yokohama will be soon the second sustainable smart town and the construction is underway.
Panasonic’s current HIT module portfolio encompasses one of the most comprehensive solar panel solutions for homeowners in the world, featuring various panel sizes geared to provide homeowners with greater choice and flexibility to extract the maximum amount of power from their roofs.
News item from Panasonic