Researchers from CNR-IMM,CNR-IPCB, CNR-NANOTEC, Università Degli Studi di Messina and the University of Basel have shown that lead leakage can be prevented by applying a transparent titanium dioxide (TiO₂) sponge in a semitransparent solar cell. The device has demonstrated comparable efficiency to semi-transparent perovskite devices and has an average visible transmittance (AVT) of 31.4%.

The team designed the solar cell for applications such as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) and agrivoltaics, in which the potential lead leakage can be seen as a serious public environmental and health risk source. 

Researchers from Nanjing Tech University, Wuhan University of Technology and National University of Singapore set out to address two major issues that should be resolved in order to promote perovskite solar cells (PSCs): disorder crystallization of perovskite and unbalanced interface charge extraction, which limit further improvements in device efficiency. 

The team used a thermally polymerized additive N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (NVP) as a polymer template in the perovskite film, followed by a conventional HTL/Chlorobenzene (CB) solution spin-coating process to remove the residual miscellaneous phases and open the grain boundaries to form monolithic perovskite grains, thereby suppressing the defect-related non-radiative recombination. Furthermore, this process results in the formation of a novel “Mortise-Tenon” (M-T) structure for perovskite/HTL composite film, which provides a larger contact area between perovskite and HTL, thereby facilitating hole extraction to achieve balanced charge management. 

Perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells promise efficiencies of over 30 percent, and it seems that new world efficiency values are reached in an increasing pace. These world records, however, are realized on areas that are about 400 times smaller than the current wafer size of a typical industrial silicon solar cell. Scalability remains a challenge that many solar researchers are trying to overcome, hoping to find promising routes for the scalable and economical production of such solar cells. 

In the recently launched research projects "Pero-Si-SCALE" and "LiverPool", funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE is building an independent technology platform for scaling up perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells and modules. The goal is the further development and analysis of cell and module designs as well as manufacturing processes which make a rapid transfer to industry possible.

An international team of scientists from Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, École Polytechnique in Paris, Columbia University in New York, and the Free University in Berlin have demonstrated laser-driven control of fundamental motions of the lead halide perovskite (LHP) atomic lattice.

Sketch of the experimental pump-probe configuration. Image from Science Advances

By applying a sudden electric field spike faster than a trillionth of a second (picosecond) in the form of a single light cycle of far-infrared Terahertz radiation, the team unveiled the ultrafast lattice response, which might contribute to a dynamic protection mechanism for electric charges. This precise control over the atomic twist motions could allow to create novel non-equilibrium material properties, potentially providing hints for designing the solar cell material of the future.

A project from Oklahoma State University was selected to receive a $750,000 grant from NASA.

The grant will go toward efforts in exploring a fully Vacuum Thermal Evaporation (VTE)-processed halide perovskite solar cell using only solid precursors for developing a simple solar panel manufacturing process suitable for space.

Researchers from Xiamen University and China Jiliang University have reported ultrahigh-efficiency green PeLEDs with quantum efficiencies surpassing a milestone of 30% by regulating the charge carrier transport and near-field light distribution to reduce electron leakage and achieve a high light outcoupling efficiency of 41.82%. 

The scientists applies Ni_0.9Mg_0.1O_x films with a high refractive index and increased hole carrier mobility as the hole injection layer to balance the charge carrier injection and insert the polyethylene glycol layer between the hole transport layer and the perovskite emissive layer to block the electron leakage and reduce the photon loss.

It was reported that on May 24, at the 16th (2023) International Solar Photovoltaic and Smart Energy (Shanghai) Exhibition (SNEC), LONGi Green Energy Technology announced its “STAR Innovative Ecological Cooperation Platform” and its newly achieved efficiency of 31.8% for perovskite/crystalline silicon tandem solar cells based on commercial CZ silicon wafers.

The German Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) reportedly certified LONGi's conversion efficiency of 31.8% for perovskite/crystalline silicon tandem solar cells based on commercial CZ silicon wafers. This was said to be the highest internationally certified conversion efficiency based on the superposition of perovskite on commercial CZ silicon wafers.

Researchers from Stanford University have reported a novel way to improve the performance of perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) in the violet region. The new method could represent a promising step toward cost-effective and efficient ultraviolet PeLEDs.

By engineering the crystallization process of spin-coated 2D perovskites with water, the resulting PeLEDs exhibit bright violet emission at 408 nm with an external quantum efficiency of 0.41%, a 5-fold increase over control devices. 

Italian solar company, FuturaSun, has acquired Solertix, a start-up specialized in perovskite solar cell research and upscaling for industrial applications.

This acquisition represents a major investment for FuturaSun in scientific research and in the development of innovative technologies. Alessandro Barin, CEO of FuturaSun, emphasizes the strategic importance of this step, stating, “Perovskite is the future of high-efficiency photovoltaics, and in this specific R&D segment, we couldn’t afford not to be key players, working alongside those who are dedicated to scientific research at the highest academic levels.”

Less than two months after achieving a new world record for tandem solar cell efficiency of 33.2%, KAUST researchers have announced an improvement to this number by reaching a power conversion efficiency of 33.7% for a perovskite-silicon solar cell. 

The result was reportedly certified by the European Solar Test Installation (ESTI).