perovskite solar cell

Researchers at Simon Fraser University in Canada have proposed protocols for standardized testing to avoid skewed results. The validated recommendations cover procedures for key measurements and the use of the indoor PV reference cell method.

Conceived by scientists in China, the cell was built with an alkaline treatment that modulates efficiently the perovskite quantum dots surface chemistry. The device reportedly achieved the highest power conversion efficiency ever reported for this kind of solar cells.

Three US manufacturers actively working to commercialize their respective perovskite-silicon tandem technologies make the case for tandem modules. CubicPV, Caelux and Swift Solar argue a commercial future for perovskites is inevitable, and they tell pv magazine the current policy environment could work in the technology’s favor.

Solaires Entreprises, a Canadian perovskite startup, has begun supplying indoor PV modules for integration into sensor devices, marking its first commercial shipment.

University of Sheffield researchers developed a machine learning framework to improve coating properties in a roll-to-roll slot die coating process. The work is seen as an initial step toward broader use of machine learning and related technologies to assist with optimization.

France’s CEA-INES and WattByWatt, a Canadian startup, announced a 9 cm2 tandem perovskite-silicon PV cell with an efficiency of 28%, the result of an ongoing research collaboration.

Power Roll, a UK developer of perovskite solar technology, has begun outdoor testing of its 600 mm x 400 mm flexible modules.

To evaluate the outdoor performance and stability of perovskite solar cells using contactless and noninvasive methods, an Australian and Chinese research team found a way to use photoluminescence imaging as well as demonstrating a proof of concept for implied open-circuit voltage (iVOC) imaging. Their research relied on cost-effective equipment that operates under direct sunlight.

Testing conducted by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) in Germany has shown that perovskite solar cells operating at high latitudes in Europe may suffer from higher performance losses in winter compared to conventional PV devices. The scientists warned, however, that at lower latitudes this seasonality may be less pronounced.

A team of UK researchers is working on lightweight cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar devices for space arrays. The aim is to develop 20%-efficient ultra-thin devices to provide lightweight, compact, lower cost solar power for satellites and space-based manufacturing applications.