Global green investment driving technological advances

Businesses across the globe are investing heavily in renewable energy systems in order to improve their efficiency, thereby reducing emissions and dependence on fossil fuels, technology research firm, Strategy Analytics.

The compound semiconductor and photovoltaic industries in particular have been the focus of significant investment, fuelling rapid developments in technology whilst generating thousands of green jobs. This is particularly so in Germany where government subsidies have seen the country emerge as world leaders of solar energy.

“There is a lot of development activity for renewable energy applications, particularly solar energy,” noted Eric Higham, Director of the Strategy Analytics GaAs and Compound Semiconductor Technologies Service. “Companies are trying to increase efficiency and develop new technologies in order to allow renewable energy sources to be more cost effective and widespread.”

Asif Anwar, Director, Strategy Analytics Strategic Technologies Practice, added, “Most of the thin-film photovoltaic materials have efficiencies well below 30 percent, so there is a lot of room for improvement. But even a few percentage points can mean a big difference for a large energy grid.”

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