In a move to try to create a solar cell conversion efficiency rate of over 20%, Chinese company JA Solar Holdings has teamed up with US start-up Innovalight. The two have signed a 3-year contract “for work on Secium high efficiency solar cells.”

With pilot production of the solar cells already underway, these solar cells are expected to be available commercially sometime this year.

“JA Solar reports that its Secium solar cells have achieved a conversion efficiency rate of 18.9 percent, and that the agreement with Innovalight is aimed at bringing that figure above 20 percent,” Nate Lew of Cooler Planet reports.

“Innovalight’s contribution to the deal will focus largely on the nanotechnology-based silicon ink that it uses to boost photovoltaic performance while lowering production costs.”

We have written a bit about the clean energy race (especially between the US and China), but the truth is that the clean energy revolution is not only an economic competition (or race) but also an opportunity for global cooperation and coordinated advancement. It is great to see companies from these two countries teaming up in this instance to create more efficient solar cells.