Perovskite

Tests conducted by a research team in outdoor environments in Spain and Poland have demonstrated a strong correlation between perovskite solar cell degradation and the combined effects of climatic and operating conditions. The scientists found that open-circuit operation accelerates degradation, whereas operation at the maximum power point and under short-circuit conditions has a lower impact.

US-made perovskite tandem cells from Swift Solar were used in a US Department of Defense hybrid microgrid as part of a recent cybersecurity demonstration.

A Chinese research group claims to have achieved remarkable efficiency and stability in a solar cell based on a perovskite absorber incorporating MXene, a novel type of 2D material known for its excellent conductivity, chemical stability, and thermal resilience. The device reportedly retained 80% of its initial efficiency after 500 hours.

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.

Scientists in Belgium have investigated how perovskite absorbers used in solar cell degrade under three different stress test types and have found that the interface between the perovskite layer and the electron transport layer suffers from weak thermomechanical stability, which creates the conditions for performance losses.

Australian graphene supplier First Graphene has reported the addition of its functionalized graphene product to perovskite solar cells has increased efficiency almost two-fold and reduced production costs by up to 80%.

Renshine Solar says it has achieved a record 27.5% efficiency for a flexible all-perovskite cell and 23.0% on a 20.26 cm² panel.

Researchers have used guanidinium thiocyanate as a chaotropic agent to modulate the crystal growth rate during perovskite crystallization. They compared different concentrations of the guanidinium thiocyanate. Champion device efficiency was 22.34%.

Huaneng has commissioned a 5 MW perovskite PV demonstration plant in China’s Qinghai province to test performance, durability, and environmental adaptability under high-altitude, high-UV conditions.