September 2024

Researchers from China's Peking University, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) have found that the preparation of metal electrodes by high-vacuum thermal evaporation, an unavoidable step in almost all device fabrication processes, often damages the surface of perovskite films, resulting in component escape, defect density rebound, carrier extraction barrier, and film stability deterioration. Therefore, the prepared perovskite film and the final film actually working in devices are not exactly the same, and the contribution of film optimization to the device improvement is weakened. 

The team designed a bilayer structure composed of graphene oxide and graphite flakes to eliminate the unwanted film inconsistencies and thus save the film optimization loss. The team proceeded to design efficient perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with a power conversion efficiency of 25.55%, which demonstrated negligible photovoltaic performance loss after operating for 2000 hours.

Researchers from CHOSE (Centre for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy) at Tor Vergata University of Rome, CNR-ISM and Saule Technologies have introduced an optimized blade coating process for the scalable fabrication of large-area (15 cm × 15 cm) perovskite solar modules with a nickel oxide hole transport layer, performed in ambient air and utilizing a non-toxic solvent system. 

The research group fabricated a 110 cm² perovskite solar module with an inverted configuration and a hole transport layer that uses nickel oxide instead of commonly utilized poly(triarylamine) (PTAA). The proposed architecture aims to achieve high efficiency that is competitive with PTAA-based panels while improving stability.

Researchers from EPFL, University of Bern and HZB have introduced a new lead-halide-based Ruddlesden–Popper perovskite structure based on a visible-light-absorbing naphthalene-iminoimide cation. The team stated that the optoelectronic properties of this new material represent an important step toward enhancing light harvesting and affording the spatial separation of charge carrier transport in stable layered perovskite-based devices.

Incorporating organic semiconductor building blocks as spacer cations into layered hybrid perovskites provides an opportunity to develop new materials with novel optoelectronic properties, including nanoheterojunctions that afford spatial separation of electron and hole transport. However, identifying organics with suitable structure and electronic energy levels to selectively absorb visible light has been a challenge in the field. In their recent paper, the team introduced a new lead-halide-based Ruddlesden–Popper perovskite structure based on a visible-light-absorbing naphthalene-iminoimide cation (NDI-DAE).

Empa spin-off Perovskia has launched perovskite solar cells that can be used in smartwatches, keyboards etc. Perovskia Solar has specialized in custom-made solar cells for electronic devices, and has recently acquired more than ten companies from the Internet of Things (IoT) industry as new customers and received over two million Swiss francs from an international coalition of business angels and early-stage funds. 

“Energy harvesting for IoT devices is a rapidly growing market with a potential of several billion dollars,” said Anand Verma, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Perovskia. “Our easy-to-integrate designer solar cells either eliminate the need for batteries or extend their lifespan, opening up the possibility of powering any device with solar energy.”

Halocell Energy has entered into an agreement with First Graphene, which will supply graphene for the manufacture of perovskite solar cells.

The initial two-year agreement will result in First Graphene providing its PureGRAPH material to Halocell for use as a high-performing coating for perovskite solar cells. By incorporating PureGRAPH into its products, Halocell Energy hopes to expedite its manufacturing process and enhance light absorbing performance, which will enable the company to scale up commercial production to meet demand.

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have developed a perovskite silicon tandem solar cell with 31.6% efficiency. 

The new 1 cm² solar cell is special in that the perovskite layer of the top cell was deposited on an industrially textured silicon heterojunction solar cell using a hybrid manufacturing route. The successful use of textured standard silicon solar cells and the uniform application of the perovskite layer on the texturized surface are important prerequisites for the industrial production of perovskite silicon tandem solar cells.

An EU-funded Laperitivo project was launched earlier this month, focused on manufacturing large-area stable perovskite solar modules. Laperitivo stands for “large-area perovskite solar module manufacturing with high efficiency, long-term stability, and low environmental impact.” The project aims to achieve 22% efficiency for 900 cm² opaque panels and 20% for semi-transparent modules with more than 95% bifaciality.

The team will focus, among other things, on solving scalability challenges, to promote large-scale mass production with minimized losses. The abstract of the project’s EU funding paper also states that: “Indoor and outdoor field tests will be performed to monitor module reliability. Safety, circularity, and sustainability will be assessed to demonstrate products with minimized environmental impact.”

Soochow University researchers have proposed the in situ treatment of Cl-rich benzene phosphorus oxydichloride (BPOD)as a way to achieve high-quality pure-blue perovskites, by simultaneously enlarging the perovskite bandgap, passivating the halide vacancy defects, and immobilizing the halide ions through the hydrolysis products of chloride ions and phenylphosphonic acid. 

The background for this work is that despite the substantial progress in sky-blue (480−495 nm) perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs), pure-blue PeLEDs (<480 nm) merely show moderate performances. Bromide-chloride mixed perovskites may have potential to enable a straightforward and effective way to obtain pure-blue emission, but the tricky issue of halide migration in mixed halide perovskites makes it challenging to achieve efficient PeLEDs with stable electroluminescence (EL) spectra. 

Perovskia Solar, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), has secured USD$2.4 million in funding from a global coalition of angels and early-stage funds, and successfully obtained 10+ Internet-of-Things (IoT) industry leaders as clients. The startup has introduced the first ready-to-adopt perovskite solar cells on the market for edge devices and is scaling up its Swiss manufacturing capacity.

Perovskia Solar is a Swiss cleantech startup that develops highly efficient, custom-designed solar cells for IoT and consumer electronic devices. These cells harness ambient light to power the next generation of self-sustaining devices, drastically reducing reliance on traditional batteries and minimizing waste. The company's vision is to integrate a solar cell into every device, enabling clients to launch breakthrough products with superior end-user experiences while tackling global environmental challenges. 

The Washington State Department of Commerce (DOC) announced a $37 million investment into 46 clean energy projects throughout the state.

The programs will be funded by the Washington Climate Commitment Act (and additional state funding), with $14 million going towards the “Research, Development and Demonstration” program, which awards “projects fund multiple new and developing technologies, ranging from low-head turbines to create hydropower, to several different carbon capture technologies, to low-carbon concrete products.”