The US Department of Energy (DoE) awarded nearly $40 Million for grid-decarbonizing solar technologies projects. The DoE awarded the funds to 40 research projects, several of which are perovskite related. We'll list the perovskite projects (which were awarded a total of $1.25 million) below.

The DoE also issued a request for information (RFI) to gather input on efficiency, stability and replicability performance targets for perovskite photovoltaic devices that could be utilized to demonstrate technical and commercial readiness for future funding programs.

At a recent CEATEC event, Toshiba presented a film-based perovskite photovoltaic module, and won the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award at the event. The module was a double winner, also awarded the Grand Prix in the Carbon Neutral category.

Toshiba's solar module is light and flexible and can be installed in various places, including curved surfaces and windows. The lightweight and flexible solar cells made from perovskite film have achieved an energy conversion efficiency of 15.1%.

Unlike the narrow band emission based on free excitons in lead-perovskite nanocrystals (NCs), the low electronic dimensionality in lead-free double perovskite NCs can lead to self-trapped excitons (STEs), generating a broadband emission. To date, how the singlet/triplet STEs influence the photoluminescence properties and whether triplet STEs can generate efficient emission in double-perovskite NCs has been unclear.

A research team, led by Prof. Han Keli and Yang Bin from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, recently synthesized double perovskite nanocrystals with bright photoluminescence emission based on triplet STEs.

Scientists at MIT recently reported creating the first high-quality thin films of a new family of semiconductor materials - chalcogenide perovskites. This achievement, lead by MIT researcher Rafael Jaramillo, has the potential to impact multiple fields of technology.

Chalcogenide perovskites could have applications in solar cells and lighting, Jaramillo says. He notes, however, that "the history of semiconductor research shows that new families of semiconductors are generally enabling in ways that are not predictable."

Worksport, a developer of tonneau covers, solar integrations, and NP (Non-Parasitic), Hydrogen-based green energy solutions, has announced that it has entered into a joint collaboration with Greatcell Solar Italy.

Worksport partners with industry-leading solar providers for flexible, high efficiency, mono-crystalline panels for their Terravis systems, currently available for pre-order.

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara recently conducted a research that disproved the common belief that organic molecules are crucial to achieving PSCs' impressive performance because they suppress defect-assisted carrier recombination. Not only was this assumption shown to be incorrect, but the team also found that all-inorganic materials have the potential for outperforming hybrid perovskites.

“To compare the materials, we performed comprehensive simulations of the recombination mechanisms,” explained Xie Zhang, lead researcher on the study. “When light shines on a solar-cell material, the photo-generated carriers generate a current; recombination at defects destroys some of those carriers and hence lowers the efficiency. Defects thus act as efficiency killers.”

Saule Technologies' perovskite-based PV cells have reached 25.5% efficiency, as confirmed by laboratory measurements at the Fraunhofer ISE group of Dr. Uli Würfel.

The measurements were carried out under 1000 lux illumination by a cold white LED, which represents the real-life environment for the first commercial application of these devices.

A team of researchers from HZB, CNRS and Charles University used a multi-method approach to quantify and characterize defects in single crystal MAPbI₃, giving a cross-checked overview of their properties. The team characterized five different defect types and measured the interaction between these defects and the charge carriers.

MAPI semiconductors consist of organic methylammonium cations and lead iodide octahedra that form a perovskite structure. MAPI based solar cells have achieved efficiencies of 25% within a few years. But so far, the semi-organic semiconductors are still ageing rapidly.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding a new project, kicked off on October 5, 2021, called 'project HIPER-LASE'. The new project will explore the potential of perovskite semiconductors for realizing an on-chip electrically pumped laser.

Integrated photonic-circuits could trigger the next technological revolution in microelectronics. The prerequisite, however, is the availability of a cost-effective and scalable manufacturing technology. An excellent candidate for this task is the photonics platform based on silicon/silicon-nitride. What is still missing though, is an integrable laser source. In the DFG-funded project HIPER-LASE, AMO and partners RWTH Aachen University, the University of Wuppertal and the University of Siegen will explore the potential of perovskite semiconductors for realizing an on-chip electrically pumped laser.

Researchers at the University of Rome Tor Vergata's Centre for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy (CHOSE) and ISM-CNR have tested a commercially available HTM with a new core made by low-cost fluorene'xantene units. The experimentation was conducted on small (0.09 cm²) and large area (1.01 cm²) cells.

The one-pot synthesis of this compound is said to drastically reduce its cost compared with the commonly used Spiro-OMeTAD. The optoelectronic performances and properties were characterized through JV measurement, IPCE (incident photon to current efficiency), steady-state photoluminescence and ISOS stability test. SEM (scanning electron microscope) images reveal a uniform and pinhole free coverage of the X55 HTM surface, which reduces the charge recombination losses and improves the device performance relatively to Spiro-OMeTAD from 16% to 17%. The ISOS-D-1 stability test on large area cells without any encapsulation reports an efficiency drop of about 15% after 1000 h compared to 30% for the reference case.