A new era for the Solar Cell Efficiency Tables

The internationally recognised Solar Cell Efficiency Tables, the global benchmark for independently verified photovoltaic performance, have moved to an open-access publishing model with their latest edition in Joule (Volume 10, Issue 7). Version 68 reports 21 new results and updates across silicon, perovskite and tandem technologies.

First published in January 1993, the tables have been updated every six months for more than 33 years. Their move from Progress in Photovoltaics to Joule makes the latest performance records freely accessible to researchers and industry worldwide, and reflects the growing impact of photovoltaics to global energy supply.

Led by Scientia Professor Martin Green (UNSW), Version 68 highlights the following new milestone entries:

• 28.1% efficiency for a large-area 140-cm² silicon solar cell, 26.4% for a large silicon module

• 28.0% efficiency for a small-area 0.05-cm² lead-halide perovskite cell

• 35.2% efficiency for a 1-cm² perovskite/silicon multi-junction solar cell

• Module record of 34.4% for a smaller 805-cm² module using GaInP/GaInAs/Ge cells

Evolution of silicon cell efficiency as documented in the Tables.

Version 68 of the Solar Cell Efficiency Tables includes two notable UNSW-Sydney results

Two new entries were developed at UNSW by Professor Xiaojing Hao's team. An antimony chalcogenide (Sb₂(S,Se)₃) solar cell achieved 10.1% efficiency, becoming the first entry in this material category to exceed 10%. Independently measured by CSIRO, the cell represents progress in emerging thin-film solar technology. A second UNSW result achieved 15.95% efficiency for a cadmium-free copper gallium indium sulphide cell, a material of interest for future tandem devices.

Through leadership in governance, editorial stewardship, and strict protocol definition, the Tables ensure that the global PV industry operates on a foundation of trusted, unassailable performance benchmarks as lab-scale innovations transition into commercial power generation.

Reference

Green, M.A., Dunlop, E.D., Yoshita, M., Kopidakis, N., Bothe, K., Siefer, G. and Jiang, J.Y. (2026). Solar cell efficiency tables: Version 68. Joule, 10(7), Article 102494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2026.102494