Perovskite Solar - Page 53

Researchers from China's Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Sichuan University and Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) recently developed a new technology for the production of perovskite films that uses effects similar to those of facial masks, which promote the absorption of skincare products into the skin.

The newly developed technology made it possible to produce high-quality films with a smooth surface and a high efficiency of converting solar energy into electrical power.

Researchers from South Korea's Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) have found that molybdenum ditelluride could increase carrier generation in perovskite solar cells.

They simulated a tandem solar cell with two absorbers based on methylammonium lead triiodide (CH₃NH₃PbI₃) – a perovskite with high photoluminescence quantum yield – and molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe₂), which is known for being naturally p-doped, with cascaded bandgaps to absorb a wider solar spectrum. The team determined that its efficiency could exceed 20%.

This is a sponsored post by MBRAUN

The potential of perovskites

Over the past decade, perovskites solar cells have attracted tremendous interest from the academic community, becoming a leading photovoltaic trend. Advances in the fundamental understanding of perovskites’ chemical and physical processes made them an attractive class of material for many researchers. In parallel, engineering developments on the architecture and fabrication methods of perovskite-based solar cells are becoming increasingly interesting for the PV industry.

Processing of perovskites

In general, three main types of perovskites processes can be distinguished – the fully vacuum-processed, the fully ambient processed and the hybrid type. For each process, MBRAUN can offer dedicated equipment solutions which will be showed in outline in the following paragraphs.

On one hand vacuum-based methods convince due to high-quality thin films, leading to the best device performance but are but are also characterized by comparatively high investment and operating costs. On the other hand, solution-processing techniques, like spin coating or slot-die coating also produce good-quality layers but excel at significantly lower investment and operation costs.

Comparison of wet and vacuum coating

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) and University of North Texas have reported perovskite-based solar technology that can generate power when irradiated with light produced in household light sources like LED or CFL.

The results of this research could support IoT technology, which is being increasingly used in mobile phones, smart homes, and other applications that require various kinds of real-time data. These IoT devices are required to run independently without relying on electrical grids for power supply; primary and secondary batteries are currently used to power such devices. All batteries, irrespective of their kind, have a finite lifespan and are neither cost-effective nor eco-friendly.

MBRAUN, a major mechanical and industrial engineering company and an affiliate of Germany’s Indus Holdings AG, plans to invest almost USD$750,000 (1 billion won) in a South Korean university as part of a deal to jointly conduct solar cell-related research and development projects. MBRAUN will also donate research equipment to Sungkyunkwan University and help it build facilities for the projects. With the investment, MBRAUN and Sungkyunkwan University’s Advanced Institute of Nano-Technology (SAINT) will establish an application lab at the research center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.

“Korea is the birthplace of technological innovation. That’s why we decided to donate research equipment to a Korean university,” Patrick Bieger, MBRAUN’s chief executive, said in a recent interview with The Korea Economic Daily in Seoul. He said it’s the first time that MBRAUN has decided to invest in a university, which shows how important the Korean market is in terms of technological innovations.

Scientists from the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) have achieved 21.1 percent efficiency with tandem perovskite - CIGS solar cells. These thin-film-based modules are highly efficient, light and flexible and can open doors to many new use cases for which standard rigid modules are not suitable.

ZSW’s tandem solar module has an area of nine square centimeters and achieves 21.1 percent efficiency. This prototype also features scalable component architecture suitable for industrial manufacturing. The best performance attained to date with tandem solar modules made of perovskite and CIGS is just slightly higher at 22 percent. ZSW has already achieved an excellent efficiency level of 26.6 percent with this combination of materials in smaller laboratory cells.

In June 2021, Tokyo Chemical Industry Company Limited (TCI) started offering new hole selective self-assembled monolayer (SAM) forming agents, 2PACz [Product Number: C3663], MeO-2PACz [D5798] and Me-4PACz [M3359] for high performance perovskite solar cells and OPVs. Now, TCI has expanded its range of SAMs by adding two new high-efficiency materials: Me-2PACz [M3477] and Br-2PACz [B6391].

The SAM materials enable efficient, versatile and stable p-i-n perovskite solar cell devices. These materials are useful for tandem solar cells as they grant conformal coverage on rough textures. In fact, a perovskite solar cell that uses the SAM hole transport layer can realize more than 20% efficiency without using dopants or additives. Perovskite-Silicon tandem solar cells that use Me-4PACz as a hole contact material realized 29.15% efficiency. Costs are lowered thanks to extremely low material consumption, and the processing is very simple and scalable.

Researchers from Northwestern University, University of Toronto and the University of Toledo have developed an all-perovskite tandem solar cell with extremely high efficiency and "record-setting" voltage.

“Further improvements in the efficiency of solar cells are crucial for the ongoing decarbonization of our economy,” says U of T Engineering Professor Ted Sargent (ECE). “While silicon solar cells have undergone impressive advances in recent years, there are inherent limitations to their efficiency and cost, arising from material properties. Perovskite technology can overcome these limitations, but until now, it had performed below its full potential. Our latest study identifies a key reason for this and points a way forward.”

French solar module manufacturer Voltec Solar and the Institut Photovoltaïque d’Île-de-France (IPVF) have announced plans to set up a factory for four-terminal (4T) tandem perovskite-silicon solar panels in France. The “France PV Industrie” project aims to build a gigafactory for solar panels, with a dual objective: to produce more efficient solar panels locally and to create a sustainable industry, based on a fast-growing market and a breakthrough technology.

The IPVF and Voltec plan to create a joint venture (France PV Industrie) so they can secure the necessary financing to scale up to industrial production. The pilot line will require an investment of €15 million ($15.4 million) and the industrial demonstrator €50 million. The partners estimate the total investment at around €1 billion by 2030. The facility will make modules based on IPVF's 4T tandem solar cell technology. The two entities plan to set up the first pilot production line by the end of 2023 and the first 200 MW industrial demonstrator in 2025. They will then increase the factory's capacity to 1 GW in 2027 and 5 GW by 2030.

Researchers from the Technical University of Dresden, led by Prof. Yana Vaynzof, have demonstrated a new concept for the formation of a heterojunction for photovoltaics. The team took advantage of the fact that materials can often exist in different structural configurations, termed crystalline phases. This phenomenon, called polymorphism, means that the same material can exhibit different properties, depending on the specific arrangements of atoms and molecules in its structure.

By interfacing two such phases of the same material, Prof Vaynzof and her team demonstrated for the first time the formation of a phase heterojunction solar cells. Specifically, the researchers chose a caesium lead iodide perovskite – a highly efficient solar cell absorber material – in the beta and gamma phases to realise their new concept.