Hanwha Q Cells

TNO, together with Dutch industrial partners Levitech, Tempress, Yparex and SMIT Thermal Solutions and the German R&D center of Hanwha Q Cells, has demonstrated for the first time that bifacial tandem solar technology can be manufactured at industrial scale, delivering measurably higher electricity output from the same surface area under real operating conditions.

The module architecture stacks monolithic perovskite/silicon solar cells to reach higher efficiencies than current silicon-only modules, while its bifacial design captures light from both the front and rear of the panel for additional yield. The work was carried out under the Fit4Market project, a Dutch-German collaboration TNO has coordinated since 2023, which set out to combine bifacial light capture with tandem cell architecture using processes compatible with existing photovoltaic production lines - prioritizing scalability and real-world validation over maximizing laboratory efficiency.

Denmark-based FOM Technologies has signed a joint development agreement for perovskite materials research, pairing its slot-die coating platforms with an industrial partner the company has left undisclosed.

Under the agreement, FOM will bring its slot-die coating technology together with the partner's own expertise and application area, with the stated aim of commercializing perovskite materials. The company is careful to note that the agreement carries no guarantee that commercial products will emerge from the collaboration, or that it will generate revenue.

Qcells has become the first company to receive certifications from UL Standards & Engagement (UL) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for its silicon-perovskite tandem solar technology. German technical advisory firm TÜV Rheinland verified that the technology meets the requirements of the IEC and UL 61215 standards - a set of benchmarks that assess the technical reliability and bankability of solar technologies, and which can be seen as obstacles to commercializing perovskite tandem products.

The tested cells and modules came from Qcells' pilot production line in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany. The company stressed that the products were fabricated using exclusively mass-production processes for both cell and module manufacturing - suggesting the certified devices are representative of what a commercial line could produce rather than bespoke laboratory samples. The Bitterfeld-Wolfen site receives funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and the European Union through the PEPPERONI project.

Hanwha Solutions’ Qcells division (Hanwha Qcells) has announced it will serve as the lead institution in a new South Korean government research and development project focused on commercial‑area perovskite/crystalline silicon tandem solar modules.

The three‑year project, which began in April 2026, is part of the national Energy Technology Development Program overseen by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and the Korea Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP). Under the R&D agreement titled “Technology development and demonstration of commercial‑area perovskite/crystalline silicon tandem modules,” Qcells will head a consortium of nine organizations, including domestic companies, research institutes and universities.

Hanwha Solutions’ Qcells division has reportedly completed the solar cell production line at its Cartersville factory in Georgia, paving the way for mass production to begin as early as this July. 

Hanwha Qcells' solar production plant in Cumming, Georgia, USA. /Courtesy of Hanwha Solutions, from: www.chosun.com

This milestone finalizes the company’s U.S. “Solar Hub”, a vertically integrated manufacturing base that covers the full value chain from ingots and wafers through cells to finished modules, all produced domestically. Once ramped, the hub is expected to support several gigawatts of annual ingot, wafer and cell output, alongside 8.6 GW of module capacity.