Germany-based perovskite solar specialist Oxford PV plans to bring its perovskite-silicon tandem solar products to mass production in 2028, driven primarily by improvements in tandem reliability and continued gains in power conversion efficiency.
“We are targeting a 1% annual increase in module efficiency through 2032,” Oxford PV CEO David Ward told pv magazine in an interview at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) this week in Abu Dhabi, UAE. “Currently, our modules have an efficiency of 24%. Next year we plan to reach 25% efficiency with a 10-year lifetime, while in 2027 we expect 26% efficiency and a 15-year lifetime. By 2028, we are targeting 27% efficiency and a 20-year lifetime.”
Ward said a 20-year lifetime will be critical for the commercialization of tandem products. “Developers aren’t looking for 40 years; they are more concerned about the levelized cost of energy (LCOE). As long as the price premium is offset by increased power production and LCOE is lower, interest will rise significantly,” he said.
Oxford PV is evaluating several locations for future manufacturing facilities in addition to its existing plant in Brandenburg an der Havel, eastern Germany. “We’re very happy with our manufacturing operation in Brandenburg, where we are producing pilot products for the utility-scale and commercial and industrial markets, as well as specialty products for non-terrestrial applications,” Ward said. “We are aslo ooking for the right locations for a handful of additional facilities and are targeting the start of manufacturing at a new site in late 2027 or early 2028.”
The Middle East, the United States, and Europe are under consideration. “As for China, we already have a clear strategy: we’ve partnered with Trina Solar for licensing in the region,” Ward said, referring to the exclusive licensing agreement signed in April. “It’s unlikely that we will carry out manufacturing there ourselves, as Trina and its sublicensees will handle that.”
Oxford PV’s cell technology will primarily be used to manufacture top cells for tandem architectures. “Our company is focused on tandem products rather than single-junction perovskite,” Ward said. “This means we will source the bottom silicon cells for our tandem products from external suppliers. We can use both TOPCon and heterojunction (HJT) cells, as we are fairly agnostic about the silicon technology. However, we would likely prefer HJT initially because we have more in-house experience with it. That said, switching to TOPCon would not be a major challenge.”
Ward added that more public data from perovskite solar test fields could be released this year, helping to build confidence among investors and stakeholders. “I expect 2026 to be a year not only of development with customers, but also of increased licensing activity that we will be able to discuss publicly. The inbound interest we’re seeing shows that the industry is actively working on perovskite-silicon tandems.”
Regarding pricing, Ward said the premium typically associated with new technologies should not be a major concern. “What really matters is achieving a lower LCOE,” he said. “There is nothing inherently expensive about the perovskite side of the cell. The materials are not costly, and there are no critical or unusually expensive process steps. By far the largest share of tandem cell costs still comes from the silicon cell.”
Oxford PV unveiled its first perovskite-silicon tandem solar module with 26.9% efficiency in June 2024. A few months later, the company announced the commercial launch of perovksite-silicon tandem modules in the United States.
It began working on its perovskite tandem solar modules in 2014 and claims to have a “clear roadmap” to bring the technology to over 30% efficiency.
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