Perovskite Solar - Page 29

Researchers from China's Shanghai University of Engineering Science have developed a novel solar spectral converter using a GdPO₄ glass-ceramic (GC) material doped with praseodymium (Pr) and europium (Eu) ions. This technology could lead to notable boosts in performance and applicability of solar cells.

The main purpose of GdPO₄-GC:Eu³⁺/Pr³⁺ is to absorb UV photons from solar radiation and re-emit them as visible light. This is possible thanks to the efficient energy transfer that happens between the ions in the material.

In 2022, publicly traded footwear producer and solar technology maker Golden Solar, based in China, signed an agreement with two partners to pursue commercial production of perovskite tandem solar cells with 'more than 28%' conversion efficiency. Now, Golden Solar New Energy Technology Holdings Limited has announced the launch of its perovskite/hybrid BC Tandem Solar Cells.

Golden Solar stated that it will apply 'the world's most advanced battery technology to C-end products, gradually develop a series of ultra-high-efficiency C-end products, and open up a broader space for growth'. Recently, the first perovskite/hybrid BC four-terminal tandem solar cell was launched, claimed to have a conversion efficiency of 33.94%.

It was recently reported that NGK Insulators is set to invest $106 million in a Co-Creation Center and a Carbon Neutrality (CN)-Related Product Development Area, called the Atsuta site, at its head office in Mizuho, Japan. At the new center, NGK plans to install perovskite solar cells by EneCoat Technologies, in which NGK has invested, and will conduct demonstration testing of power generation performance.

The center will  promote open innovation and adding value with ceramic technologies. Construction is scheduled to be completed in May 2025.

Perovskite/perovskite/silicon triple-junction cells can deliver higher efficiencies than single- or dual-junction solar cells, but achieving this is not without its challenges. In a recent study, researchers from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Northwestern University, University of Toledo and University of Toronto combined with a synergistic additive strategy (using potassium thiocyanate and methylammonium iodide), to stabilize the top perovskite, thus addressing a major hurdle. The team fabricated a perovskite-perovskite-silicon triple-junction solar cell with a new passivation strategy based on the utilization of potassium and thiocyanate.

This approach leads to an efficiency of over 26% for 1 cm² triple-junction solar cells. The triple-junction solar cell is based on a 15.0%-efficient top perovskite solar cell modified with potassium thiocyanate (KSCN) and methylammonium iodide (MAI). According to the team, the triple-junction device displays a remarkable power conversion efficiency improvement compared to state-of-the-art devices.

Chinese energy company Akcome has announced an investment of approximately 1 billion RMB (~USD 140 million) to establish a research and production base for heterojunction-perovskite tandem solar cells.

The initiative will be led by Akcome’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Zhejiang Akcome Future Technology Co., Ltd., in collaboration with the Hangzhou Qianjiang Economic Development Zone Management Committee.

Researchers from China's Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Beijing Huairou Laboratory and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed an additive with a conjugated structure, 2,2′-diamino-[1,1′-biphenyl]-4,4′-dicarboxylic acid (DBDA), containing amino and carboxyl groups. The additive was introduced to convert tensile strain to compressive strain in perovskite films. 

Lattice tensile strain generated during the preparation of perovskite thin films has detrimental effects on the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The scientists in this work examined this additive as a way to mitigate these harmful effects.

GCL Group Holdings, a major Chinese solar materials maker, has reportedly begun building 'the world's biggest perovskite solar cell factory' in the city of Suzhou.

The plant’s production capacity will reach two gigawatts, according to GCL Photoelectric Materials. The new facility will be built in two phases and the products will be 2.4 meters in length and 1.2 meters in width, the Company'srecent statement specified.

Researchers at Germany's Forschungszentrum Jülich have reported a method to fabricate >1-micrometer thick perovskite films by employing hole-transporting bilayers of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and poly[bis(4-phenyl) (2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)amine] (PTAA). Recognizing the critical role transport layers play in exacerbating thickness-dependent losses, the team optimized a dual-layer hole transport architecture to reduce resistive losses and recombination. The authors achieved remarkable efficiency retention at over 1 micron thickness.

This work focuses on a solar cell architecture that decouples thickness from efficiency limitations. By sandwiching specialty organic films around the perovskite layer, the authors enabled micron-scale thicknesses without forfeiting peak performance. Their design notably achieves a remarkable 20.2% efficiency at over 1 micron thickness with minimal losses compared to thinner versions.

Reports suggest that earlier this month, China's privately owned company, Landspace, achieved a significant milestone with the successful launch of its ZQ-2 II Remote Three Launch Vehicle. The launch took place at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in western China. This one-rocket, multi-satellite commercial mission resulted in the deployment of three geosynchronous satellites into their designated orbits. One of these satellites, the Honghu II, carried perovskite modules developed by GCL Perovskite.

GCL Perovskite has equipped the Honghu II satellite with two 10cm by 10cm perovskite single-junction modules. The primary objective of the space test mission is to validate the performance, stability, and reliability of these perovskite modules in the demanding space environment. Data collected from the mission will be crucial for future practical applications of perovskite modules in space, including the construction of large-scale space power plants.

A team of researchers from Brookhaven National Lab, Georgia Institute of Technology, Argonne National Laboratory, Istituto CNR di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche “Giulio Natta” (CNR-SCITEC) and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie has examined the mechanism that causes degradation of formamidinium-based halide perovskites and have been able to stop it using a thin layer of molecules that repels water.

“Perovskites have the potential of not only transforming how we produce solar energy, but also how we make semiconductors for other types of applications like LEDs or phototransistors. We can think about them for applications in quantum information technology, such as light emission for quantum communication,” said Juan-Pablo Correa-Baena, assistant professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering and the study’s senior author. “These materials have impressive properties that are very promising.”