Perovskite solar cells

Scientists in India have simulated a novel perovskite solar cell that combinies a Dion-Jacobson 2D layer with a 3D halide perovskite. The design showed improved stability compared to reference cells without the DJ-2D layer.

Scientists in China built a four-terminal perovskite-CIGS tandem solar cell based on a top semi-transparent perovskite device with an efficiency of 21.26% and a high bifaciality factor of 92.2%. They used a solvent-annealing strategy to produce a perovskite film with full coverage, larger grains, superior crystallinity and free of detectable lead iodide impurity.

Mellow Energy claims its ML-Flex panel is currently the world’s largest flexible perovskite solar module. Available in five versions with power output ranging from 260 W to 300 W, the module measures 1,200 mm x 1,600 mm and weighs only 2.04 kg.

Techno-economic analysis conducted by NREL researchers has shown how perovskite-silicon tandem solar modules could currently hardly compete in cost with incumbent PV panels. Production costs for U.S.-made tandem products were found to range between $0.29/W and $0.42/W, with module efficiencies ranging from 25% to 30%.

Researchers from Belgium and the University of Cyprus have completed outdoor stability tests of perovskite solar mini-modules providing two-years of data on stability performance. The tests showed that the modules’ performance loss rates during the burn-in period of perovskites ranged between 7% and 8% per month.

The result was confirmed by the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Waaree Energies will support creation of an advanced fabrication and characterization setup for high-efficiency perovskite solar cells at IIT Bombay.

Using atomic layer deposition, a research team from the City University of Hong Kong has created an an oxygen-deficient tin oxide layer to replace the more common fullerene electron transport layer in perovskite solar cells. The result is a 25%-efficient device that is able to retain around 95% of its efficiency after 2,000 h.

A research group at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee has fabricated 4-terminal silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells with power conversion efficiency of 28%. The team is now scaling up this technology to match 18.2 cm x 18.2 cm, commercial M10 solar cells dimension.

Conceived by Chinese scientists, the cell was built with new surface reconstruction strategy based on the use of 1,4-butanediamine (BDA) and ethylenediammonium diiodide (EDAI2) as surface modifiers. The device was able to retain 79.7% of its initial efficiency after 550 h.