February 2025

Researchers from Fraunhofer ISE and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have designed a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell that is said to offer improved reproducibility. The device uses self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) that reportedly result in low parasitic absorption and rapid charge extraction.

Schematic of the fully-textured perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell structure studied. Image from: small methods

SAMs have shown great potential as hole-selective contacts for high-efficiency PSCs due to their easy processing, passivation capability, and low parasitic absorption. However, for the deposition of SAMs with a monolayer thickness and a high packing density on metal oxide substrates, critical challenges persist. To address these, the study focuses on the impact of annealing temperature – an intrinsic yet so far unexplored process parameter – during the formation of SAMs.

A new collaboration between Kalpana Systems, HyETSolar, and TNO has been launched to advance the commercialization of perovskite solar cells. The Perovision Project aims to optimize nickel oxide (NiOx) layers for perovskite solar cells using spatial Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). RVO awarded the project an EKOO: Electricity Subsidy grant to support the Netherlands' energy independence and transition. 

The project will run from February 2025 to January 2027, targeting integration into HyETSolar's production line by mid-2027 and full-scale production by 2030. Project results are expected in 2027.

Scientists at the Queen Mary University of London have formed a new partnership with solar start-up Power Roll to improve quality control in perovskite solar film manufacturing.

The partners will be working on a solution to to defects in perovskites, which is referred to as an “in-situ optical analysis to provide fast accurate data for quality control,” first developed by Queen Mary’s Dr. Stoichko Dimitrov. Power Roll will be the first to apply the technology in an industrial setting. The start-up uses a combination of microgrooves and vacuum forming to make film which is less than a millimeter thick and 25 times lighter than even the lightest silicon panels. Creating such thin film at scale makes quality control especially tough. Each individual solar cell Power Roll makes is 1/50th of the width of a human hair – far too small to be inspected visually. The team at Queen Mary and Power Roll aim to solve this.

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), University of Tennessee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Hong Kong Baptist University and Yale University have taken the lead in breaking through studies of the nanoscale properties of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). This initiative has resulted in the development of more efficient and durable cells, poised to substantially diminish costs and broaden applications, thereby connecting scientific research with the needs of the business community.

The team named the inhomogeneous distribution of cations in perovskite thin films, which can trigger an unfavored phase transition that gradually degrades the devices, as a key factor in causing PSCs' instability. The research team, led by Prof. ZHOU Yuanyuan, Associate Professor of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Associate Director of the Energy Institute at HKUST, found that the nanoscale groove traps at the perovskite grain’s triple junctions serve as geometric traps that capture cations and retard their interdiffusion towards homogenization. 

Researchers from China's Northwestern Polytechnical University, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Henan University have addressed the stability challenge of flexible perovskite solar cells (FPSCs). Inspired by the exceptional wet adhesion of marine mussels via adhesive proteins (dopamine, DOPA), the scientists proposed a multidentate-cross-linking strategy, which combines multibranched structure and adequate dopamine anchor sites in three-dimensional hyperbranched polymer to directly chelate perovskite materials in multiple directions.

Schematics of key components for the underwater adhesion feature of marine mussels and HPDA adhesive in perovskite films and interfaces. Image from: Nature Communications

This constructs a vertical scaffold across the bulk of perovskite films from the bottom to the top interfaces, that intimately binds to the perovskite grains and substrates with a strong adhesion ability, and enhances mechanical durability under high humidity. 

Canon has developed a new high-performance material that addresses two issues of perovskite solar cells: photoelectric conversion efficiency and longevity. This new material can, according to Canon, do two things: prevent the halogen ion movement that causes the perovskite layer to deteriorate, and move the charge generated in the perovskite layer.

A real-world demonstration (through joint research with Toin University of Yokohama) has reportedly showed that when this newly developed material is applied between the perovskite and HTL layers to form a new layer, it can maintain a high rate of photo-electric conversion efficiency while increasing durability. The new layer covers the bumps in the perovskite layer, creating a smoother surface that enables the stable mass production of the perovskite solar cell. As it also improves durability, the burden of maintenance and repair is also reduced.

Forming a low-dimensional (LD) capping layer over the surface of three-dimensional (3D) perovskites is a known approach for stabilizing perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the performance of treated PSCs tends to be limited by inefficient charge transfer across the LD/3D interfaces.

Recently, researchers from China's Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and University of Macau developed a 1D capping layer over the perovskite surface via post-treatment with a conjugated quinolinamine (QA) halide salt. In contrast to 2D perovskites, this unique configuration enables charge transfer between inorganic slabs and adjacent QA spacers in the capping layer, resulting in a reduced dielectric confinement effect and enhanced carrier mobility. 

Frontier IP, a specialist in commercializing intellectual property, has announced that its portfolio company GraphEnergyTech (Frontier IP holds a 23.97% equity stake in GraphEnergyTech) has entered into a collaboration with the Taiwan Perovskite Solar Corporation, Taiwan's prestigious Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), and the University of Cambridge to drive development of perovskite solar technology.

This new project that the four organizations have formed will be called Graphene Electrode Technology for Perovskite Solar Cells (or "GETPSC") and it has secured a £884,129 (over US$1,115,000) grant from Innovate UK.

Bifacial perovskite solar cells can harness sunlight from both sides. Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) recently made significant strides in their development with a novel NiO/Ag/NiO transparent electrode that helps to achieve high efficiency, durability, and infrared transparency, promising significant advances in solar energy applications.

A three-layer transparent electrode is used in the fabrication of the bifacial perovskite solar cell. Credit: Journal of Photonics for Energy (2025)

The research team designed and fabricated bifacial solar cells that are highly transparent to infrared light. They achieved this by incorporating a hybrid top transparent electrode (TE) in a three-layer structure of NiO/Ag/NiO (NAN). This innovative approach, using a low-energy physical vapor deposition technique, resulted in an electrode with very low electrical resistance and high visible light transmittance.

As part of the EU-funded project PERSEUS, that was launched in January 2025 and will run until December 2027, Fraunhofer FEP is developing new optically effective surface structures for perovskite solar cells. 

Haptic surface on a polymer film, created using roll-to-roll nanoimprint lithography (R2R-NIL), which is used in combination with a decor within DESIGN-PV as a cladding for BIPV modules for facades. Image credit: Fraunhofer FEP
 

By using roll-to-roll nanoimprint lithography (NIL), reflection losses are to be minimized, and the efficiency of solar cells increased. In the Design-PV project, decorative surfaces for facade-integrated photovoltaic modules are developed using NIL. The versatile NIL technology also offers application possibilities in areas such as antifouling, anti-reflective coatings, and medical engineering.