Perovskite solar production

 Verde Technologies has opened a new research lab and pilot production facility in Waterbury Center, Vermont, which will aim to allow the company to build out its pilot lines and start producing larger thin-film solar cells for upcoming pilot projects with local and national partners. 

The research center is located in the former Suss Microtec facility. Verde's lead investor is VCET's Vermont Seed Capital Fund. Founded in Burlington by University of Vermont alums and researchers, Verde Technologies manufactures thin, lightweight and flexible perovskite solar panels. The Company says that "these American-made and manufactured panels are ten times lighter than traditional silicon solar panels and use a peel-and-stick installation method making them much more accessible and affordable". Verde’s technology will allow them to repower older solar fields to increase their output and utilize existing infrastructure.

Researchers from China's Dongguan University of Technology and Xi'an Jiaotong University have developed a spontaneous cooling strategy with a hot-pressing technique that enables the production of high-purity, wafer-scale, pinhole-free perovskite wafers with a reflective surface. 

This method can, according to the team, be extended to a variety of perovskite wafers, including organic-inorganic, 2D, and lead-free perovskites. The size of the wafer (with diameters of 10, 15, and 20 mm) can be tailored by changing the mold.

Global PV project developer and panel manufacturer, Renesola, recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its 3GW PV module production factory in Longan District, Anyang City, Henan Province. The total investment for the project is approximately 3 billion yuan (almost USD$422 million).  

The first phase of the project will establish a 3GW photovoltaic module production line, along with essential production equipment such as frames, brackets, and welding strips, with the goal of creating a comprehensive photovoltaic industry chain. While this plant is not focused on perovskite-based PV, it is important to note that the second phase of ReneSola's Anyang base plans to establish a 2 GW Perovskite solar modules production line, covering an area of approximately 40,000 square meters. 

Hefei BOE Solar Technology has announced the successful production of the first 1.2m*2.4m perovskite solar module (in a line that was said to be completed in 38 days).

BOE said that its three major R&D platforms have all entered the first-class echelon of the industry, realized independent debugging of fully automatic intelligent production lines, and mastered the dry coating process. Currently, its glove box champion efficiency is 25.6%, and the experimental line champion efficiency is 20.63%.

Jiangsu Xiehang Energy Technology (Fellow Energy/Xiehang Energy), a holding company of Turkey’s Chen Solar photovoltaic module and smart device manufacturer, has announced its plan to build a perovskite solar cell and module factory in Sichuan Province, China.

Fellow Energy had negotiated with the local government of Dechang County, Sichuan Province, for the construction of the project. It plans to build a solar cell factory to produce 2GW of perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells and 5GW of high-efficiency solar modules annually upon completion of the facility.

Reports suggest that a number of renewable-related projects have recently been signed in Shanghai, China, including a 1GW perovskite module factory.

The perovskite solar module factory will be initiated by Wuxi UtmoLight Technology (UtmoLight), a China-based technology development company working towards perovskite commercialization, with a total investment of 1.5 billion yuan ( around USD$212,221,000), The new facility will be located in Heze City, Shandong Province.

Researchers from China's Hebei University of Technology have developed a scalable method combining physical thermal field and chemical bonding to fabricate inch-sized FAPbI₃ wafers. By integrating 120 °C hot-pressing to stabilize the photoactive α phase and polyaniline polymer to conduct and passivate the grain boundaries, the team obtained quasi-single crystal FAPbI₃ wafers on a large scale. 

This approach reportedly overcomes the critical challenges of phase impurities and high-density defects, enhancing the phase stability of the FAPbI₃ wafers. 

Sekisui Chemical is reportedly considering acquiring part of Sharp Corp.'s plant in Osaka Prefecture, in order to use the facility to produce perovskite solar cells. The Company plans to commercialize these solar cells in 2025.

It was also said that Japan's industry ministry is likely to subsidize the project as it is expected to contribute to decarbonization.

Prominent U.S solar panel maker, First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR), is reportedly building a new research and development (R&D) innovation center in Lake Township, Ohio, believed to be the largest facility of its kind in the Western Hemisphere - The Jim Nolan Center for Solar Innovation. The new center is part of an approximately half-billion dollar investment by First Solar in R&D infrastructure, and the company expects to also commission a perovskite development line at its Perrysburg, Ohio, campus in the second half of 2024. 

The facility covers 1.3 million square feet and includes a high-tech pilot manufacturing line allowing for the production of full-sized prototypes of thin film and tandem PV modules. Prior to the commissioning of the Jim Nolan Center, First Solar utilized a manufacturing line at its Perrysburg facility for its late-stage product development efforts. This arrangement limited the flexibility for development efforts and created constraints when mission-critical tools had to go offline. By resolving these limitations and constraints, the new facility is expected to accelerate innovation cycles.

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Cygnus 2 is a high-resolution controller capable of controlling six independent rates as low as 0.1 Å/s, typical of advanced solar cell manufacturing processes. This is especially useful in the OLED and solar markets as it eliminates the need for multiple controllers for tools with multiple sources. Instead of having six different deposition controllers for each chamber, one Cygnus 2 can control all six sources independently, simultaneously, or in any combination that is desired to minimize integration cost.