China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) announced it achieved a power conversion efficiency of 25.05% for an inverted perovskite solar cell.
The result was confirmed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology (SIMIT).
Inverted perovskite cells have a device structure known as “p-i-n”, in which hole-selective contact p is at the bottom of intrinsic perovskite layer i with electron transport layer n at the top. Conventional halide perovskite cells have the same structure but reversed – a “n-i-p” layout. In n-i-p architecture, the solar cell is illuminated through the electron-transport layer (ETL) side; in the p-i-n structure, it is illuminated through the hole‐transport layer (HTL) surface.
CNPC researchers said that by combining the inverted architecture with “dipole-precisely adjustable” interface molecules, they addressed key stability issues, raising the cell’s open-circuit voltage to 1.68 volts.
The company said the cell is intended to serve as the top device in tandem configurations with conventional silicon bottom cells. CNPC reported certified efficiencies of 34% for silicon-perovskite tandem cells and 30% for all-perovskite stacks, although it did not provide further technical details.
CNPC said that modules using the new perovskite technology could reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) to CNY 0.212 ($0.030)/kWh, about 14.5% lower than standard PERC silicon modules.
To scale production, CNPC plans a 100 MW pilot line in 2026, followed by a 5 MW mass production facility in 2028.
Following the creation of CNPC Electric Power in late 2025, Chairman Dai Houliang set a goal for renewable energy capacity to match the group’s oil and gas output by 2035. The initiative is supported by a CNY 10 billion industry fund and government tax incentives for perovskite production.
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