RayGen’s solar power system PV Ultra, utilises an ultra-powerful solar module that employs multi-junction Gallium-Arsenide technology typically used in space applications to convert concentrated light directly into electricity.
RayGen’s 2kW PV Ultra module, pictured here next to a regular business card, is ultra-compact and ultra-capable. It is over 1000 times more powerful than, and twice as efficient as, normal photovoltaic (PV) panels.
Just two of these small modules can make enough power to run a home. The extraordinary capability of the RayGen PV Ultra module can be harnessed using concentrated light from a field of wireless ‘smart’ mirrors.
When compared to typical photovoltaic technology, the PV Ultra system requires just 1/1000th of the photovoltaic material and half of the solar collector area to produce the same power.
The RayGen solar collector consists of wireless mirrors that track the sun, delivering a concentrated light beam to the array of PV Ultra modules in the receiver, as shown below.
The field of mirrors (on the right) focuses light to the mast mounted receiver fitted with PV Ultra modules. This unique system facilitates rapid and flexible deployment through a combination of pre-fabricated and pre-commissioned components and wireless technology.
The small high tech receiver is factory built, fitted with PV Ultra modules, commissioned by RayGen and shipped cost effectively anywhere in the world. The field mirrors can be built locally to RayGen specification.
RayGen’s proprietary control software links the receiver to the mirrors by automated wireless software; concentrating the light onto the receiver throughout the day delivering maximum electricity production. This unique approach has a number of advantages over typical PV including:
Potential to be ½ the cost/W due to the ultra-high efficiency of the PV Ultra modules.
Requires only ½ the collector area required by regular PV systems. The use of simple, low cost wireless mirrors as collectors also costs less per square meter to install than regular PV collectors.
Ultra-low manufacturing overhead: the area of PV Ultra modules required per MW is 1/1000th that of a typical PV system;
The ability to cogenerate and incorporate enhanced power storage using the captured heat transferred from the PV Ultra modules.
Ongoing and rapid advances in the technology (particularly in cell efficiency), together with the concentrating effect of the mirrors, provides the opportunity to upgrade modules within existing systems in a cost-effective manner, further increasing efficiency and preventing obsolescence.