Everlight Chemical's Gordon Chao discusses encapsulation materials, collaborations, and the path to perovskite commercialization

Everlight Chemical is a materials supplier known for its Eversolar® encapsulant portfolio, used by research groups and manufacturers working on perovskite and other emerging thin-film solar technologies. We interviewed Yun-Chang (Gordon) Chao, Photovoltaic Materials Manager in the Sales Department at Everlight Europe B.V., who walked us through the company's encapsulation materials, its academic collaborations, its take on where the perovskite industry stands today, and its plans for the future! Perovskite Connect 2026. Everlight Chemical will also be speaking at Perovskite Connect 2026. 

Please start by describing Everlight's current activities and focus areas within the perovskite field

Everlight Chemical has been developing encapsulation materials for emerging photovoltaic technologies since the dye-sensitized solar cell, or DSSC, era. Today, our main focus includes practical encapsulation solutions for perovskite solar cells, perovskite-silicon tandems, all-perovskite tandems, organic photovoltaics, and other sensitive thin-film devices.

Our work goes beyond supplying materials. We support academic and industrial partners with material selection, encapsulation structure design, coating method evaluation and long-term reliability testing.

We adapt our materials to different device structures and production methods, including dispensing, slot-die coating, screen printing and others. Our goal is to help partners close the gap between high-performing laboratory cells and reliable, manufacturable products.

We believe encapsulation should be considered from the beginning of device and process development, rather than treated only as the final packaging step.

Can you tell us more about the encapsulant materials Everlight Chemical offers - what makes them unique, and how do they perform in perovskite applications?

The Eversolar® portfolio includes the AB-302 series of transparent materials, the AB-341 series of high-barrier materials and the AB-402 series of high oxygen-barrier materials. These products support full-area, frame and edge sealing for rigid and flexible device structures.

Their main characteristics include:

• Low gas permeability, helping reduce the risk of moisture and oxygen entering the device.
•  UV or visible-light curing at room temperature, avoiding high-temperature lamination processes that could
  damage sensitive active layers and reduce initial power conversion efficiency.

In a peer-reviewed Nature Communications study, devices encapsulated with AB-341 maintained 100% of their initial performance for more than 1,930 hours under the ISOS-D3 damp-heat test at 85°C and 85% relative humidity, which evaluates stability under elevated temperature and humidity. In an EES Solar study, devices encapsulated with AB-341 retained 90% of their initial efficiency after 1,000 hours of maximum-power-point operation at 75°C under continuous 1-sun illumination.

These are complete-device results obtained under specific test conditions, not a universal lifetime guarantee for every device. We therefore encourage partners to evaluate the complete encapsulation system with their own device structures and manufacturing processes.

Everlight Chemical has been actively supporting academic research through collaborations. Could you share some of the recent or particularly exciting projects?

Academic collaboration is an important part of our development approach. Research partners help us understand new device structures and degradation mechanisms, while we provide encapsulation materials, application guidance and technical support for device preparation and long-term stability testing.

Everlight Chemical has supported research teams working within several European projects, including VALHALLA, NEXUS, PEARL and SOPHIA, by providing Eversolar encapsulation materials and practical application support.

Studies using Eversolar materials have been published in peer-reviewed journals including Nature, Nature Materials, Nature Communications and EES Solar, among others.

Third-party water-vapor transmission rate testing conducted by SGS using MOCON equipment has also demonstrated strong moisture-barrier performance for Eversolar materials compared with selected conventional encapsulation materials. At the device level, published studies using Eversolar have reported strong long-term stability under demanding test conditions.

What is Everlight Chemical's role in the ISOS outdoor testing protocol?

Everlight Chemical’s role is to contribute encapsulation materials, practical application experience and technical support. We are not responsible for defining the ISOS protocol.

During ISOS-16~17, Everlight Chemical was honored to have the opportunity to support the upcoming ISOS Outdoor Round Robin project. This opportunity followed the round-table discussion on encapsulation and outdoor degradation.

Using a common encapsulation approach can help reduce one uncontrolled variable when devices are prepared by different research groups and tested at different outdoor locations. The participating research community remains responsible for protocol design, testing and interpretation of the results.

We appreciate the trust and support of the partners who made this contribution possible, and we value the opportunity to apply what we learn from outdoor testing to future encapsulation development.

From your perspective, how would you describe the current state of the perovskite industry and market? What key challenges still need to be addressed?

I see the perovskite industry moving from technology validation toward early commercialization. Commercial-size tandem cells, pilot production lines and early customer shipments show real progress, while the discussion is shifting from record efficiency toward scalable processes, manufacturing consistency and reliability.

Long-term outdoor performance remains a key challenge. The industry must also improve large-area uniformity, yield, reproducibility and compatibility between materials and high-throughput manufacturing. Better links between accelerated tests and outdoor degradation are needed, together with lead containment, recycling, third-party validation and sufficient field data for warranties and project financing.

The next phase will be defined not only by champion-cell efficiency, but by whether reliable products can be manufactured consistently and economically.

Looking ahead, where do you see the perovskite industry in the next five years - and what role do you envision for Everlight Chemical in that future?

Different applications will develop at different speeds. Perovskite-silicon tandems are likely to lead where higher power per unit area creates clear value, while lightweight, flexible and indoor photovoltaic products may reach specialized markets earlier.

Over the next five years, I expect more pilot-scale production, demonstration projects and early commercial deployment, although I would be cautious about predicting that perovskite will replace conventional silicon PV within this period.

Everlight Chemical aims to develop encapsulation solutions alongside the industry. This means adjusting material properties and production parameters for different device structures and manufacturing processes, while optimizing barrier performance and mechanical characteristics.

Through academic collaboration, accelerated aging and outdoor validation, we want to build the reliability data needed to help partners turn promising laboratory results into stable, manufacturable products.

You attended Perovskite-Connect 2025. What are your main takeaways or impressions from the event’s first industry-focused edition?

Perovskite-Connect 2025 was one of the most industry-focused gatherings I have attended in the sector. It brought together a strong concentration of companies and created valuable discussions around commercial readiness, scalable manufacturing and reliability.

My main takeaway was that the conversation had moved beyond efficiency alone. Cell developers, material suppliers, equipment manufacturers and researchers were discussing how to manufacture devices consistently, select suitable equipment and materials, validate long-term reliability and build commercially viable products.

Everlight Chemical is also honored to join Perovskite-Connect 2026 as a speaker. Our presentation, “Practical Encapsulation Factors for Reliable Perovskite Commercialization,” will share practical experience on key encapsulation process factors, common issues and considerations for device and process development. We look forward to exchanging views with the wider perovskite community.

For support with perovskite encapsulation or any other inquiry, feel free to contact Yun-Chang (Gordon) Chao, Photovoltaic Materials Manager, at gordon.chao@everlight.nl