Perovskite Solar

Art-PV India, an IIT Bombay-incubated start-up, has been awarded a $10 million grant by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). The funding will enable the company to set up a manufacturing plant for high-efficiency tandem solar cells.

Art-PV has developed a 2-Terminal Monolithic Silicon/CdTe-Perovskite tandem solar cell that boasts an impressive 29.8% efficiency in converting sunlight into electricity. The cell is constructed with a silicon base, topped with layers of cadmium telluride (CdTe) and a perovskite-structured material.

Scientists from HZB and Humboldt University Berlin have reported a CIGS-perovskite tandem cell that sets a record with an efficiency of 24.6%, certified by the independent Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems.

The team's new tandem solar cell combines a bottom cell made of CIGS with a top cell based on perovskite. By improving the contact layers between the top and bottom cells, they were able to increase the efficiency to 24.6%. This cell was the result of a successful team effort: the top cell was fabricated by TU Berlin master's student Thede Mehlhop under the supervision of Stefan Gall. The perovskite absorber layer was produced in the joint laboratory of HZB and Humboldt University of Berlin. The CIGS sub-cell and contact layers were fabricated by HZB researcher Guillermo Farias Basulto. He also used the high-performance cluster system KOALA, which enables the deposition of perovskites and contact layers in vacuum at HZB.

Researchers from China's Northwest Normal University, Xidian University and Xi'an Shiyou University have developed a four-terminal perovskite-CIGS tandem solar cell based on a top semi-transparent perovskite device with an efficiency of 21.26% and a high bifaciality factor of 92.2%. The scientists used a solvent-annealing strategy to produce a perovskite film with full coverage, larger grains, superior crystallinity and free of detectable lead iodide impurity.

The team fabricated a four-terminal (4T) tandem solar cell based on a top semi-transparent perovskite device and a bottom cell relying on copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS). The scientists used a stepwise dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solvent-annealing method to improve the crystallinity of the perovskite film used in the perovskite top cell and fabricated films with a wide bandgap of 1.68 eV via two consecutive heating steps: annealing at 100 C and then 80 C.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a novel way to make hydrocarbons – powered solely by the sun.

a) Architecture of the tandem PEC device. b) A schematic illustration of the nanoporous electrode. Image credit: Nature Catalysis

The device they developed combines a light absorbing ‘leaf’ made from a perovskite solar cell, with a copper nanoflower catalyst, to convert carbon dioxide into useful molecules. Unlike most metal catalysts, which can only convert CO₂ into single-carbon molecules, the copper flowers enable the formation of more complex hydrocarbons with two carbon atoms, such as ethane and ethylene — key building blocks for liquid fuels, chemicals and plastics.

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.

Microquanta has announced that a 1 MW solar rooftop demonstration project at Qinghai University has been successfully grid connected. The project makes use of Microquanta’s perovskite modules and is one the first megawatt-scale perovskite rooftop distributed PV projects in Qinghai Province. The electricity generated by this rooftop plant will be utilized by the campus. 

This project is said to be one of the largest perovskite power plants globally. It is equipped with a smart monitoring platform, which provides real-time visualization of the plant’s power generation, electricity transactions, and equipment performance. Over its 25-year lifecycle, the project is expected to generate a total of 20,327,745.20 kWh, with an average annual output of 813,109.81 kWh.

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.

The controlled growth of two-dimensional (2D) perovskites on top of three-dimensional (3D) perovskite films can improve the performance and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) by reducing interfacial recombination and impeding ion migration. However, the random orientation of the spontaneously formed 2D phase atop the pre-deposited 3D perovskite film can deteriorate charge extraction owing to energetic disorder, limiting the maximum attainable efficiency and long-term stability of the PSCs. 

Schematic illustrating the reorientation of the 2D-MAP perovskite during and after the post-dripping process. Image credit: Nature Communications

Recently, an international team of scientists, including ones from Saudi Arabia’s KAUST, Korea University and the Chinese Academy of Science, developed a meta-amidinopyridine ligand and the solvent post-dripping step to generate a highly ordered 2D perovskite phase on the surface of a 3D perovskite film.