A bifacial solar cell is a photovoltaic cell that generates electricity from both its front and back surfaces, unlike a conventional monofacial cell that only captures light striking its front face. In a fixed ground mounted array the rear surface gains extra output from sunlight reflected off the ground, while a vertically mounted bifacial array produces a two humped output curve that peaks at dawn and dusk rather than at midday, which can help balance grids that already carry heavy solar generation around noon. The concept dates to a 1960 patent by the Japanese researcher Hiroshi Mori, and the Soviet space program flew working bifacial cells between 1974 and 1976; the Spanish company Isofoton, founded in 1981, became the first commercial bifacial cell manufacturer, and by 2020 roughly 184 companies were producing the technology, with forecasts projecting its market share rising from about 20 percent to about 70 percent by 2030.
Facts
Technology TypePhotovoltaic solar cell that produces electrical energy from both its front and rear sides 1 Invented Year1960 is the priority date of Hiroshi Mori's Japanese patent proposing the first theoretical bifacial solar cell, per the cited source; the first physical demonstrations followed later, on the Soviet Salyut 3 and Salyut 5 space stations of 1974 and 1976. Classification
MaturityTRL 7: System Prototype Demonstration in Operational Environment 1 Sources
1. Wikipedia: Bifacial solar cells
WikipediaLead section
A bifacial solar cell (BSC) is a photovoltaic solar cell that can produce electrical energy from both front and rear side.
Invention and first devices section
The first theoretical bifacial solar cell was proposed in a Japanese patent with a priority date of 4 October 1960, by Hiroshi Mori
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