National Energy Renewable Laboratory (NREL) Certifies Konarka’s Photovoltaic Solar Cells at 6.4 Percent Record Efficiency

Konarka Technologies, Inc., an innovator in development and commercialization of Konarka Power Plastic, a material that converts light to energy, today announced that the National Energy Renewable Laboratory (NREL) has certified that Konarka’s organic based photovoltaic (OPV) solar cells have demonstrated 6.4 percent efficiency. This is the highest performance recorded by NREL for an organic photovoltaic solar cell, suggesting that Konarka continues to advance the technology at a significant pace.

In December, Dr. Alan Heeger of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and chief scientist at Konarka, received verification from NREL for a 6 percent organic PV cell. NREL is a world leader in solar energy design and testing, offering very reliable, accurate and precise methods of measuring efficiency performance.

“We are pleased with the progress of the efficiencies demonstrated by our Power Plastic material,” stated Rick Hess, president and CEO at Konarka. “This NREL certification of 6.4 percent is another milestone to developing lightweight, flexible plastic solar modules with high efficiency.”

This certification is the latest example of Konarka demonstrating the high performance potential of organic photovoltaics technology to produce a truly cost-effective renewable power solution.

Konarka Power Plastic is a patent-protected thin film solar material that is lightweight and flexible. The unique material lends itself to a wide range of applications where traditional photovoltaics are not effective.