BIPV - Page 3

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay have reported NIR-transparent perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with the stable triple cation perovskite as the photo-absorber and subsequent integration with a Si solar cell in a 4T tandem device. The scientists said that the cell provides outstanding stability in the dark, as well as continuous heating conditions.

The top perovskite cell incorporates a room-temperature sputtered transparent conducting electrode (TCE) as a rear electrode. It has an n–i–p structure and utilizes an anti-reflecting coating, an electron transport layer (ETL) made of tin(IV) oxide (SnO₂), a perovskite layer, a molybdenum oxide (MoOx) layer, and a spiro-OMeTAD hole transport layer (HTL). The MoOx buffer layer protects the perovskite photo-absorber and charge transport layers from any sputter damage.

Scientists from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a new way to fabricate micro-patterned translucent perovskite solar cells that could be used in tandem solar modules intended for applications in building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). “While translucent perovskite multi-junction devices have been envisaged and recognized as a promising path towards high- efficiency neutral-color transparent PV, the tolerance of complex perovskite tandem stacks against extensive laser scribing has yet to be explored,” the research group said.

The researchers noted that the cells have thus far provided decent levels of power conversion efficiency while maintaining a high average visible transmittance (AVT). They used a custom-built laser scribing setup to fabricate a perovskite solar cell with n–i–p architecture and with an active area of 0.105 cm². The device is based on an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate, a hole transport layer made of carbazole (2PACz), an electron transport layer made of buckminsterfullerene (C60), an absorber based on methylammonium lead triiodide (CH3NH3PbI3), a bathocuproine (BCP) buffer layer, and a gold (Au) metal contact.

The Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) and General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) have signed a partnership agreement to develop perovskite-based solar window technology that will enhance the solar power generation in India and lead to greater sustainable development.

The new solar window technology will be designed and developed by Prof. Soumitra Satapathi from the Department of Physics (IIT Roorkee) and his team. Under the program, semi-transparent perovskite solar cells will be developed for building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). The new window solar technology will harness electricity during the daytime and reduce reliance on traditional electricity sources. 

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers have joined forces with Swedish building-integrated PV (BIPV) module manufacturer, Midsummer, on a project that has yielded a four-terminal (4T) tandem solar cell based on a top cell made of perovskite and a bottom cell relying on copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS).

The joint project between Midsummer and Prof. Yang's lab at UCLA resulted in a four-terminal perovskite-CIGS tandem solar cell, based on a commercial CIGS solar cell,  that reached 24.9 percent efficiency. The solar cell was based on a perovskite top cell that has been optimized for integration with Midsummer’s CIGS cells that are utilized in their commercial suite of BIPV products.

Scientists China's Zhengzhou University,  Xi'an Jiaotong University and Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have designed a solar cell based on low-dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper (LPDR) perovskite that is said to have improved carrier transport properties.

The team explained that the new cells are more stable compared to regular 3D perovskite solar cells and are suitable for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), conventional solar, and wearable devices.

Toray Engineering says that it will ship a slot-die coater to a new perovskite PV production line. The shipment is scheduled by the end of 2022, or in early (Q1)2023. The new coater can handle subsrates up to 1 meter In size, which will enable the world's largest size perovskite PV production line. Products to be manufactured on this line will include BIPV and roof mounted panels, with an annual production capacity of 100 MW.

Toray Engineering has been supplying slot-die coaters and many other process and inspection tools worldwide for the display, semiconductor, and LiB industries. Having two solutions available in slot-die coating, which are Roll to Roll (R2R) and sheet-to-sheet, Toray Engineering is the a leader in slot die equipment supply with a sales record of over 1,000 units.

Great Wall Holdings (GWH) has entered a contract to build the headquarters and a perovskite base for its spin-off company UtmoLight in Wuxi, China. 

The company signed an agreement with local authorities of Wuxi’s Xishan Economic & Technological Development Zone to invest 3 billion yuan (around USD$442.2 million) in the UtmoLight project. The new headquarters and perovskite innovation industrial base will reportedly house 'the world’s first GW-grade perovskite photovoltaic module and BIPV production line'. The production line of perovskite quantum dot will feature a production capacity of 100 tonnes per year. GWH expects to see an annual production value of 2.5 billion yuan ($368.5 million) after the base is up and running.

Scientists from the University of Tokyo have reported a 26.2% power conversion efficiency for a four-terminal tandem solar cell based on perovskite and copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS). The researchers said these results are a world record for such tandem solar devices and attributed the improvements to the performance of the perovskite top cell.

They built the 1-square-centimeter perovskite device using a transparent conductive material made of indium tin oxide (ITO), which was deposited via sputtering and without thermally evaporated Molybdenum oxides ( MoOx). “By eliminating the use of the MoOx buffer layer, we were able to develop semi-transparent PVK cells with higher durability and transmittance,” the scientists said.

Researchers from the Singapore-HUJ Alliance for Research and Enterprise (SHARE) and Nanyang Technological University have developed semi-transparent perovskite solar cells with over 13% efficiency and 27% transparency using plasmonic Au nanorods.

Semitransparent hybrid perovskites can open the door to applications in smart windows and building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). One route towards semitransparency is thinning the perovskite film, which has several benefits like cost efficiency and reduction of lead. However, this tends to result in reduced light absorbance. To compromise this loss, it is possible to incorporate plasmonic metal nanostructures, which can trap incident light and locally amplify the electromagnetic field around the resonance peaks.

An international research group has designed a semi-transparent perovskite solar cell that reportedly shows an improved open-circuit voltage and fill factor thanks to plasmonic enhancement.

The technique is based on the enhancement of the cell's electromagnetic field through metal nanostructures, which improves the device's low optical absorption in the visible spectrum. The research team designed the tech with applications in building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) in mind, but it can also be suitable for automotive and smart glasses.