June 2023

EneCoat Technologies and Toyota Motor Corporation have announced that they will work together to develop and commercialize automotive perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with the common goal of "contributing to the realization of carbon neutrality". The high efficiency, thin form factor and light weight make PSCs suitable for the automotive industry.

EneCoat is a start-up company established in 2018 based on research results from Atsushi Wakamiya's laboratory at the Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University. It has developed material and deposition technologies for high-efficiency perovskite solar cells, and has successfully developed film-type perovskite solar cells with high output (module conversion efficiency of 19.4% as of April 2023). It is also participating in the Green Innovation Fund Project, one of the government's industrial policies aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050.

Researchers from Northern Illinois University, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory have reported a bilayer back electrode configuration consisting of an Ni-doped natural graphite layer with a fusible Bi-In alloy. This back electrode can be deposited in a vacuum-free approach and enables perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with a power conversion efficiency of 21.0%. These inexpensive materials and facile ambient fabrication techniques can help provide an appealing solution to low-cost PSC industrialization.

A thin layer of gold or silver can help improve the efficiency of perovskite solar cells, but the researchers have found a less expensive material that will enable commercialization of the technology without exorbitant cost.  “A layer of gold in a solar panel or even a layer of silver is probably too expensive,” said Kai Zhu, a senior scientist in the Chemistry and Nanoscience Center at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). “It would make the solar panel not affordable for most people.”

Researchers at MIT have prepared large CsPbBr₃ nanocrystals and observed direct evidence of interference between indistinguishable single photons sequentially emitted from a single nanocrystal. 

While the work is currently a fundamental discovery of these materials' capabilities, it might ultimately pave the way to new optically based quantum computers, as well as possible quantum teleportation devices for communication, the researchers say. 

Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) have announced achieving 24.35% efficiency for self-designed inverted perovskite solar cells on an active area of 1 cm² , saying it is an improvement over the previous record high of 23.7% on the same area.

To get to this 24.35% efficiency level, the team says it incorporated a novel interface material into perovskite cells that contributed a ‘range of advantageous attributes’. These include excellent optical, electrical and chemical properties that enhanced both their efficiency and longevity.

Researchers at Florida State University, the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, the University of Colorado Boulder and Argonne National Laboratory have studied the effects of two stressors, heat and light, on the triplet generation process at the perovskite/rubrene interface. Following exposure to both stressors, local discrepancies across the upconversion device were discovered. This work emphasizes the challenges and continued potential for the integration of perovskite-sensitized upconversion (UC) into commercial photovoltaic devices. 

The first region showed changes to the morphology, and no detectable upconverted emission was observed. Through the combination of optical microscopy and spectroscopy, crystallization of the organic semiconductor layer, degradation of dibenzotetraphenylperiflanthene, and concurrent degradation of the perovskite sensitizer were found. These effects culminate in a reduction in both triplet generation and triplet–triplet annihilation. In the second region, no changes to the morphology were present and visible UC emission was observed following exposure to both stressors. To probe the triplet sensitization process at elevated temperatures, transient absorption spectroscopy was performed. The presence of the excited spin-triplet state of rubrene at 60 °C highlighted successful triplet generation even at elevated temperatures. 

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have designed a reactor that is able to convert CO₂, water, and plastics into syngas. The system is based on a photoelectrochemical (PEC) device powered by an encapsulated triple cation perovskite-based photocathode and an alloy anode.

The PEC system initially captures CO₂ from a concentrated CO₂ stream, simulated post-combustion flue gas, and atmospheric air. It then converts this CO₂ into syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrogen (H₂).

Researchers from Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have conducted a series of tests to see if the temperature coefficient of the short circuit current in perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells could be a proper standard of measurement to analyze their behavior and performance. The team has come to the conclusion that it may not be considered a proper metric to assess these devices’ performance and behavior.

The scientists explained that the idea of their recent paper was to show that the temperature coefficient of the short circuit current, measured under standard illumination conditions, might not well describe the actual operation of tandem solar cells. Depending on the local spectrum and the temperature range, the current at maximum power (Impp) can increase, decrease or have a mixed behavior. This intriguing effect can help the community to better understand their outdoor data as outdoor tandem operation should become more and more common in the next years.

EneCoat Technologies has announced a collaboration with Macnica, a total service and solution provider in semiconductors, networking, cyber security, and AI/IoT. In addition, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has announced that it has started verification operation of IoT CO₂ sensor terminals equipped with perovskite solar cells (PSCs).

EneCoat has been developing PSCs optimized for IoT terminals in terms of power generation capacity and shape, and has been conducting verification operation of air quality sensors employing PSCs made in collaboration with Macnica since last year. To further advance the efforts, the agreement for the verification operation was signed by Macnica, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and EneCoat. By having the Tokyo Metropolitan Government provide offices within the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building as an environment for air quality monitoring operation, Macnica, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and EneCoat will be able to further advance the study and verification of the mass production of IoT sensors equipped with PSCs.

This is a sponsored message by Solaires

Solaires is recycling indoor light to power IoT and electronic devices

Solaires Entreprises Inc. is a Canadian solar energy startup based in Victoria, BC., who has developed perovskite photovoltaic (PV) modules, designed for integration into IoT devices, small consumer electronics, and smart gadgets. Powered by indoor light, the cells are extremely efficient, modular, and are configurable to suit the application.  

For years, the consumer electronics industry has dreamt of new technologies to power or recharge devices with indoor light. Perovskite modules are the most suitable solution and Solaires is proud to announce their perovskite PV modules are now available to the market for evaluation and integration into your devices! The company offers custom module sizes tailored to perfectly suit your needs. Those familiar in this space will appreciate that Solaires PV modules provide superior light absorption to traditional materials.

Why perovskite technology?

Theoretically, the best absorber materials for indoor applications should have an energy band gap between 1.8 to 2.0 eV. Silicon, with a bandgap between 1.1 to 1.6 eV shows poor performance for indoor light. Perovskite, though, has a tunable bandgap. Solaires’ team can adjust the bandgap to be between 1.2 to 2.6 eV, making perovskite PV modules suitable for generating high power from indoor light. This is achieved by a simple and cost effective solution processed to engineer the perovskite composition and the resulting band gap. As a result, Solaires can make perovskite PV modules suitable for generating high power from indoor light.

Fig. 1 illustrates the efficiency of perovskite, note the red area signalling the bandgap for electric light.

The National University of Singapore (NUS) and REC Solar, the solar power arm of the Singaporean Renewable Energy Corporation, have launched a S$77 million (US$57.4 million) solar cell research initiative.

The project, called the REC@NUS Corporate R&D Laboratory for Next Generation Photovoltaics, will be led by two co-directors, professor Amrin Aberle, CEO of the NUS’ Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore, and Shankar G Sridhara, chief technology officer of REC Solar. The university announced that the initiative will develop and commercialize “disruptive” PV technologies, based on perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells in particular.