Researchers from Japan's Ritsumeikan University and Sekisui Chemical have studied the role of barrier films in shielding flexible perovskite solar modules from harsh environmental conditions. 

The research team utilized PSC modules made of methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI₃), which were encapsulated with polyethylene terephthalate substrate with barrier films of varying water vapor transmission rates (WVTR). The PSC modules were subjected to a damp heat test, which utilized exposure of the modules to 85 °C temperature and 85% relative humidity. The conditions were set to simulate real-world outdoor conditions over extended periods.

China's Yanhe Solar has announced that is has signed an investment agreement with Changde City, Hunan Province, China, to establish a new perovskite material production base with a total investment of approximately RMB 1 billion ($137.91 million). 

Founded in 2024, Yanhe Solar is said to have secured angel funding from several investors. The company claims breakthroughs in dry-process perovskite cell production with high repeatability and uniformity, achieving certified efficiencies of 18.17% for its 300 x 400 mm semi-transparent flexible modules and 24.1% for small-area flexible devices. Yanhe Solar says it has already completed a 10 MW perovskite cell production line and has received pre-orders worth nearly RMB 10 million ($1.379 million).

A TU Delft team of researchers has examined how perovskite materials could be optimized in order to achieve improved performance in bifacial two-terminal perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell technologies. They targeted bifacial two-terminal tandem PV optimization by considering aspects not included in previous studies, such as the effect rear irradiance has on the optimal bandgap energy and thickness of the perovskite cell in this kind of a tandem module.

The bifacial perovskite/silicon cell structure used in the simulations. Image from: Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

The team's findings show that bifacial tandems have over a 25% gain in energy yield compared to bifacial single junction modules and up to 5% gain compared to monofacial tandem modules.