As part of CEA and 3SUN's joint development of tandem perovskite-over-silicon solar cell technology, a new milestone was announced, setting a new efficiency record of 30.8%. This cell was developed in CEA’s laboratories, located on the campus of the National Institute for Solar Energy (INES).
The tandem architecture used by the CEA and 3SUN for this record makes exceeding the theoretical efficiency limit - set at around 29% for conventional silicon technologies currently being produced in photovoltaic gigafactories - possible. Furthermore, while most international records are achieved on a 1 cm² area, CEA and 3SUN achieved this performance on a 9 cm² cell, which should facilitate the transition to industrial scale.
In one year of development, the CEA and 3SUN teams gained a 2.4% efficiency on cells of this type, from 28.4% to 30.8%. Based on this excellent result, the research program between CEA and 3SUN will continue, in 2025 and beyond, to tackle the final hurdles to mass production, in particular by moving to larger cells and improving their durability.
"We are very proud of this new record," shares David Duca, head of CEA's Solar Technology Department. "Our partnership with 3SUN, one of Europe's leading industrial players in the sector, is now more than 10 years old and maintains its momentum. We are regularly improving this record and proving that Asia’s domination in the photovoltaic module production sector is not inevitable. Research operators and industrialists can still be competitive in Europe. This is very good news for our industrial and energy sovereignty".
"This achievement represents a significant progress towards large-scale production of Tandem solar cells. Thanks to their high performance, these cells are destined to replace conventional silicon-only solar cells. In the coming years, this technology is expected to become the standard in the photovoltaic industry, overcoming the limitations of silicon cells." Says Stefano Lorenzi, Head of 3SUN, emphasizing that 'this technological progress is crucial for maintaining European competitiveness and promoting a more sustainable future'.
