Perovskite

Saudi Arabia researchers claim to have improved the outdoor stability of a tandem perovskite-silicon solar cell by using proper encapsulation. By the end of the first year of operation, the cell’s fill factor remained above 70%.

Researchers say that lightweight, high-performance perovskite solar modules could soon become competitive with crystalline PV modules in the residential segment, as such products will likely have lower manufacturing and balance-of-system costs in the future.

Italian researchers have analyzed different ways to assess the levelized cost of energy (LCoE) of perovskite solar cells and modules. They said a common approach should soon be defined to increase the market maturity of the tech.

The potential of perovskite solar cells and modules is still held back by issues such as stability and efficiency losses when scaling up from cell to module. But Annalisa Bruno, a scientist at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, says most of these challenges could be overcome in the near future, with this technology extending from building-integrated PV to conventional solar projects.

The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has achieved remarkable efficiency and stability for a wide-bandgap all-perovskite tandem solar cell. The scientist developed the device with an inverted architecture and used gas quenching instead of an antisolvent in the manufacturing process.

Scientists in Sweden have proposed the use of gold polyiodide compounds in monolithic perovskite solar cells. They built a lead-free device that achieved an efficiency of 0.052%.

Scientists in Singapore have reviewed all thermal evaporation techniques for the production of perovskite solar cells and modules. Despite limitations, the new methods could lead to high production throughputs and more efficient products.

Researchers from the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia have reportedly developed a perovskite solar cell with comparable stability and durability to commercial silicon PV cells. They used a high-temperature processing method with dimethylammonium chloride to control the intermediate phases of perovskite crystallization.

A group of researchers from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has achieved a new world efficiency record for a silicon-perovskite tandem solar cell, with a certified efficiency of 32.5%.

Controlling the crystallization process of perovskite thin films is one of the most challenging aspects for upscaling solar tech, but an Australian research team claims to have made a breakthrough by creating next-generation PV cells with the potential to rival the durability of silicon alternatives.