November 2025

It appears that Garmin’s latest patent hints that future watches could pair AMOLED displays with solar layers that also harvest indoor light.

Image credit: Gadgets & Wearables

Current Garmin solar watches rely on silicon-based Power Glass, which performs well in strong, direct sunlight but delivers little benefit under shade or typical room lighting. Because indoor environments often sit at a few hundred lux - far below what silicon cells need to work efficiently - the impact on real-world battery life is limited.​ In the new patent, however, Garmin highlights perovskite and organic cells, as well as tandem configurations, which could be much better for indoor use. 

Chinese perovskite manufacturer RenShine Solar recently reported 2 technological breakthroughs that it says set new world records. 

According to TÜV SÜD certification, the company’s 30 × 40 cm single-junction perovskite module achieved an efficiency of 24%. In addition, its large-format 1.2 m × 0.6 m perovskite module reached a full-area efficiency above 22%, delivering an output of 158.4 W.

Earlier this month, it was reported that perovskite manufacturer UtmoLight signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Wuxi Xingyuan Green Energy Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Wuxi Energy Group, to promote commercial applications of perovskite PV.

Under the agreement, the two parties will utilize UtmoLight’s perovskite PV technology in building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), zero-carbon industrial parks, and PV power plants. The first project under the partnership will be a 6.7 MW rooftop distributed PV plant, which UtmoLight says will be the largest single commercialized perovskite rooftop project to date. 

Panasonic and YKK AP have announced the launch of verification testing in Osaka, in which they will be field testing building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems using glass-type perovskite solar cells, which are under development.

The setup uses Panasonic’s glass-based perovskite cells inside YKK AP’s inner-window frames in the YF Tanimachi Building, where YKK AP (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) is headquartered, and the goal is to measure real power output, check installation practicality, and evaluate long‑term durability and safety in an actual office.​

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay have demonstrated a room-temperature, non-destructive method for depositing amorphous indium zinc oxide (a-IZO) transparent electrodes in perovskite solar cells, providing a step forward in device durability and performance compared to conventional indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. 

Their study specifically compared amorphous IZO (a-IZO) with polycrystalline ITO (c-ITO) as rear transparent electrodes in superstrate-architecture perovskite solar cells.​ The transparent perovskite solar cells (T-PSCs) were fabricated using a n–i–p device stack, composed of c-ITO or a-IZO rear transparent electrode, a molybdenum(VI) oxide (MoO₃) buffer layer, Spiro-MeOTAD hole transport layer, a perovskite absorber, a tin(IV) oxide (SnO₂) electron transport layer, and a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) front electrode. This device architecture enabled a direct comparison of the performance and interface characteristics associated with each electrode material.​

This is a sponsored post by Greatcell

Greatcell Solar Materials is offering the highest purity propane‐1,3‐diammonium iodide (PDAI; CAS Number: 120675-53-8) material, used as a precursor in the preparation of perovskite solar cells.

Several research groups have tested this material while producing innovative perovskite solar panels, and have shown how it can lead to increased power efficiency and stability.  

(X. Liu, M. Rienäcker, M. Gholipoor, L. Fang, T. Zhao, B. Hacene, J. Petermann, R. Cai, H. Hu, T. Feeney, F. Sadegh, P. Fassl, R. Guo, U. Lemmer, R. Peibst and U. W. Paetzold, Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, 18, 5599–5609, DOI: 10.1039/D5EE01486G.)

Jinko Solar has reportedly announced that its N-type TOPCon-based perovskite tandem solar cell has achieved a record conversion efficiency of 34.76%.

Jinko Solar attributes this efficiency breakthrough to systematic innovation in perovskite and tandem technology, including its self-developed high-efficiency N-type TOPCon bottom cell technology, perovskite lower-interface defect passivation technology, novel perovskite crystallization technology, and a deep optimization strategy for vertical charge transport.

South Korea has reportedly dedicated KRW 33.6 billion (approximately US$22.9 million) to support research and development in perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell technology, aiming to bring 28%-efficient modules to market by 2030.

According to South Korea's Minister of Economy and Finance, Koo Yun-cheol, the initiative is designed to strengthen the country’s photovoltaic industry by developing commercially viable perovskite-silicon tandem products. This effort is part of a larger national program that also targets progress in high-voltage direct current (HVDC) systems and small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), among other advanced technologies.

Researchers from Swansea University have shown that planar perovskite solar cells can be manufactured in deliberately dusty environments while still achieving power conversion efficiencies above 16%, challenging the idea that high‑performance devices must always be made in expensive cleanrooms. Their work suggests perovskites are much more tolerant of non‑conductive dust than silicon, which could make advanced solar technology cheaper and more accessible worldwide, especially where high‑spec facilities are unavailable.​

PCE change from controls in dusty device for both device stacks. Image credit: Communications Materials

In their work, small‑area perovskite cells (around 0.09 cm²) were fabricated both in clean conditions and inside a custom dust box, with dust introduced at different stages such as the electron transport layer, perovskite layer and hole transport/contact layers. Two stacks were tested - a standard spiro‑MeOTAD/gold architecture and a roll‑to‑roll compatible PEDOT/carbon stack - revealing that dust mainly creates local inactive regions and reduces effective active area, causing modest drops in short‑circuit current, fill factor and efficiency rather than catastrophic film failure.​

It was recently reported that an R&D project for perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells was approved for JA Solar (Yiwu Jin'ao Heguang New Energy Co., Ltd.).

The total investment in the project reaches 423.754 million yuan (almost US$60 million). The Company plans to build a new R&D center, purchase core R&D equipment such as laser grooving machines, plate-type PECVD, plate-type PVD, and integrated packaging equipment, and match supporting automated systems to advance the R&D progress of high-efficiency perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell technology.