> Researchers at Rice University developed a method to convert heat into light that could boost solar efficiency from 22% to 80%
The conditional tense signals that the researchers didn't actually do so, but that the study might enable it. The article re-iterates that this is speculation:
> The implications of their discovery are significant. Research from Chloe Doiron, a Rice graduate student, revealed that 20% of industrial energy consumption is wasted through heat. It could also mean an increase in the efficiency of solar cells, which are currently only 22% efficient at their peak. Recycling the thermal energy from solar cells using carbon nanotube technology could increase the efficiency to 80% according to the researchers. ...
> Researchers at Rice University developed a method to convert heat into light that could boost solar efficiency from 22% to 80%
The conditional tense signals that the researchers didn't actually do so, but that the study might enable it. The article re-iterates that this is speculation:
> The implications of their discovery are significant. Research from Chloe Doiron, a Rice graduate student, revealed that 20% of industrial energy consumption is wasted through heat. It could also mean an increase in the efficiency of solar cells, which are currently only 22% efficient at their peak. Recycling the thermal energy from solar cells using carbon nanotube technology could increase the efficiency to 80% according to the researchers. ...