Japanese imaging and electronics company Ricoh announced its perovskite solar cell technology will be evaluated on an unmanned cargo transfer operated by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
“During the in-orbit demonstration, Ricoh's perovskite solar cells are exposed to space for approximately two months,” the company said in a statement.
Tests of power generation, electrical performance and durability will be completed within the Space Solar Cell Demonstration System (SDX) aboard the new unmanned HTV-X1, built to carry cargo and space station supplies.
“The perovskite solar cells used in this JAXA space demonstration were not manufactured using inkjet technology; however, Ricoh is also developing inkjet-printed perovskite solar cells,” a Ricoh spokesperson told pv magazine, without disclosing further details.
“Building on the results of this space demonstration, Ricoh will continue to enhance the performance and high durability of perovskite solar cells, accelerating development toward early commercialization,” said the company.
This is not the first in-orbit performance test of the Ricoh perovskite solar cell technology. Last year, the small satellite Denden-01 was launched with its perovskite PV devices onboard for a six-month evaluation.
Ricoh said it has been developing perovskite solar cells for space atmospheric conditions in joint research with the JAXA Space Exploration Innovation Hub Center since 2017. The company sees perovskite solar cell technology offering several advantages over conventional space solar cells, such as the potential for high power output even with low illumination, strong resistance to cosmic rays, and its potential for lightweight and flexible designs.
It aims to integrate its core inkjet printing technologies, which include organic photoconductors, inkjet heads, ink supply systems, and roll-to-roll processing, to improve perovskite solar cell energy conversion efficiency and durability.
In a separate announcement in September, Ricoh said it will collaborate on a five-year project to develop and demonstrate perovskite solar cell technology for building-integrated solar PV (BIPV) and building-attached PV (BAPV) applications with Daiwa House Industry, Japan’s largest homebuilder, and NTT Anode Energy, an energy technology subsidiary of Japanese telecommunications company NTT, in a NEDO Green Innovation Fund-backed project.
Ricoh said that it will lead the development of inkjet printing technologies, aiming for high productivity and low-cost production processes. NTT Anode Energy will lead the development of electrical system design focused on perovskite-related challenges, part of its ongoing perovskite solar research and development, and Daiwa will lead the development of construction and installation technologies for perovskite solar cells on the rooftops of large logistics facilities and the exterior walls of data centers.
The statement also noted that the project entails collaborating with building material manufacturers to ensure durability, waterproofing and compatibility.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.