Perovskite

Scientists in India conducted a techno-economic analysis for a 100 MW production line for carbon-electrode perovskite solar modules, located in Himachal Pradesh, India. The analysis concludes that, even at the smaller scale, this emerging technology could achieve cost levels comparable with today’s silicon solar products.

The Solliance consortium has built a solar cell in a four-terminal tandem configuration that combines a 17.8%-efficient highly near-infrared transparent perovskite cell with a prototype of an 11.4%-efficient c-Si interdigitated back contact silicon heterojunction cell developed by Panasonic.

The solar cell was built on a fluorine-doped tin oxide substrate coated with titanium dioxide, an electron selective layer made of mesoporous titanium dioxide, a zirconium dioxide insulating spacer layer, and a graphite electrode. A mini-module fabricated with this cell passed, for the first time, a hotspot test.

The record efficiency was obtained thanks to an interlayer placed between the electron-transporting layer and the perovskite layer, which eliminated the need for passivation. The cell was also able to retain around 90% of its initial efficiency after 500 hours under standard illumination.

This week, Shuangliang Eco-Energy has signed a multi-year sales contract for delivery of its PV wafers to solar cell manufacturer Jiangsu Runergy, and Wuxi-based perovskite start-up UtmoLight Technology has won a Pre-A round investment of RMB 220 million from several private equity funds.

The work undertaken separately by seven academics to discover the promise of perovskite materials for solar, and to open the door to high-efficiency devices, has been recognized by the judges of the Rank Prize for Optoelectronics.

Some of the world’s largest solar PV module manufacturers are warning about looming panel shortages, but Australian researchers have declared that the industry is now drawing closer to a new generation of cheap, sustainable and efficient solar cells.

Scientists in China have fabricated 11.78%-efficient fully printable perovskite solar cells by using an electrode made of waste toner carbon from printer cartridges. The cell achieved an open-circuit voltage of 0.88 V, a short-circuit current density of 24.64 mA cm, and a fill factor of 54.56%.

A Russian-Italian research group has developed resonant silicon nanoparticles that are claimed to improve the performance of perovskite solar cells. These particles serve as nanoantennae – they catch light and it resonates inside them, which amplifies the cell’s light absorption.

Researchers in Singapore have built what they claim is the industry’s most efficient, large-area co-evaporated solar cell. According to their findings, the device has exhibited remarkable thermal stability and could reach commercial maturity within the next few years.