Perovskite-Info: the perovskite experts

Support from the US Department of Energy (DOE) will be given to several US-based development teams working to commercialize perovskite photovoltaics technology. In the latest round of funding awarded under its SunShot Initiative, the DOE will be giving $46.2 million in support of 48 different photovoltaics projects – with total funding around $65 million (when private-sector contributions are included). However, SunShot funding may be prone to changes and budget cuts proposed by the new Trump administration.

The long-term target of the funding is to achieve a levelized cost of solar-generated energy of $0.03 per kilowatt-hour (for utility-scale systems) by 2030. The SunShot initiative also has interim goals for 2020 of $0.06 per kWh for utility-scale PV, and $0.09 per kWh for residential installations. The DOE estimates the current cost of residential and utility PV at $0.18 and $0.07 per kWh respectively.

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in Ohio, USA, recently used perovskites to explore 3D printed solar cells. Using Optomec’s aerosol jet technology, the team aims to develop a more efficient and low-cost production process for harnessing solar power.

The Air Force Research Laboratory is attempting to develop a manufacturing method which automates production of the solar cells to provide a viable industrial output. To do so, the team atomized perovskite materials which can be 3D printed with the Aerosol Jet technology machine. Having coated a flat surface with the droplets, the team created a solar cell with 15.4% efficiency.

The Australia-based Greatcell (formerly known as Dyesol), has signed a non-exclusive Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with JinkoSolar, according to which the Chinese headquartered solar PV manufacturer will be given access to the company's developmental perovskite solar cells (PSC), with a long term goal to establish a formal agreement to commercialize the technology and commence large scale manufacturing.

Greatcell said that the relationship had formed over months of discussion and with the close support of Nanyang Technology University (NTU), its academic research collaboration partner in Singapore.

Chinese perovskite materials startup Hangzhou Microquanta Semiconductor has reported that a 16-cm2 perovskite mini-module, certified by testing firm Newport in Montana, US has achieved a 16% conversion efficiency.

According to Microquanta, the perovskite mini-module 16% efficiency was achieved only three months after setting a prior record of 15.2%. Progress was made, primarily due to the focus on improving the deposition uniformity for large area thin films.

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have demonstrated that a low-temperature solution printing technique allows fabrication of high-efficiency perovskite-based solar cells with large crystals for minimizing grain boundaries. The meniscus-assisted solution printing (MASP) technique reportedly boosts power conversion efficiencies to nearly 20% by controlling crystal size and orientation.

The MASP process uses parallel plates (approximately 300 microns apart) to create a meniscus of ink containing the metal halide perovskite precursors. The bottom plate moves continuously, allowing solvent to evaporate at the meniscus edge to form crystalline perovskite. As the crystals form, fresh ink is drawn into the meniscus using the same physical process that forms a coffee ring on an absorbent surface such as paper. It was stated that the process could be scaled up to rapidly generate large areas of dense crystalline film on a variety of substrates, including flexible polymers.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have demonstrated that halide perovskites are capable of discharging multiple, bright colors from just one nanowire at resolutions as small as 500 nm. This work could impact the development of new applications in optoelectronics, nanoscopic lasers, photovoltaics and more.

The team used electron beam lithography to fabricate halide perovskite nanowire heterojunctions, the junction of two types of semiconductors. The researchers analyzed cesium lead halide perovskite, and then used a common nanofabrication method integrated with anion exchange chemistry to switch out the halide ions to form cesium lead bromide, cesium lead iodide and cesium lead chloride perovskites. Each difference resulted in a different color discharged.

Researchers at Aalto University have developed a method for improving perovskite-based solar cells, that builds on previous breakthroughs improving the efficiency and longevity of such cells using printing methods (carbon back contact based perovskite solar cells or CPSCs). These findings make it possible to further enhance the efficiency of these types of solar cells.

In the new method, the perovskite solar cells were exposed to 40-degrees in a chamber where humidity was kept in the level of 70% (±5%). This kind of environment normally degrades the properties of perovskite solar cells. In this case, the treatment led to surprising growth of the perovskite crystals, which naturally absorb sunlight and generate electricity. “The photovoltaic performance was significantly enhanced, and the overall efficiency increased almost 45%,” say the researchers.