Guangdong Mellow Energy Technology has reportedly completed on-vehicle application validation of its flexible perovskite roof with Chinese state-owned automaker FAW Group.
A full-size prototype has been fitted to the vehicle's double-curved surface, and the product has now moved into vehicle-level integration validation. Mellow Energy said its 1.5 m² flexible perovskite modules have reached a conversion efficiency of 19.1%, while its 300 x 300 mm ultralight flexible modules have reached 21.79%, with both module formats passing IEC 63163 and RoHS certification. The company has supplied FAW with both the 300 x 300 mm and square-meter-scale modules, supporting the process from performance testing through solution validation to vehicle integration as part of a broader push into customized vehicle-integrated photovoltaic (VIPV) applications.
FAW has manufactured what it describes as the industry's first prototype of a perovskite photovoltaic canopy for automobiles. The company has collaborated with Nankai University and Nanjing Tech University on perovskite research and development, and has filed multiple patents addressing curved automotive photovoltaic glass, an application area that has historically been difficult for rigid crystalline-silicon cells.
Separately, FAW's Hongqi brand has also been reported to have built its own perovskite photovoltaic sunroof prototype, on the Hongqi EHS7 electric SUV, generating around 300 W under sunlight for roughly 400 kWh a year through a rigid, glass-integrated design rather than a flexible module. That appears to be a distinct program from the Mellow Energy collaboration, run through a different technical approach, rather than the same effort.
FAW isn't the only automaker pursuing automotive perovskite. Changan Automobile has introduced a "transparent photovoltaic body" technology built around a perovskite solution that it says could add up to 10,000 km of annual charging range; Oxford PV joined the UK's APC-backed SUITE project to advance solar-powered EVs; and Mitsubishi Motors has shown a concept vehicle with a perovskite solar roof. Mellow Energy itself has been racking up efficiency milestones across formats, including a 21.79%-efficient 30 x 30 cm flexible perovskite space module reported in July.
The appeal for automakers comes down to a set of properties: perovskite can be made semi-transparent, letting a sunroof double as both a light source and a power generator; it's lightweight and flexible enough to conform to curved body panels; it performs comparatively well in low light; and it can be tuned to different colors and patterns for styling, alongside a high theoretical efficiency ceiling and potential for further cost reduction. Chinese industrial policy has also been broadly supportive of the technology.
Automotive perovskite remains at an early stage industry-wide, with current applications limited to auxiliary power supplementation rather than primary propulsion. Automakers exploring the technology are treating it as a long-term strategic position in next-generation vehicle energy technology rather than a near-term product feature, though the move from an undisclosed prototype to a certified, efficiency-rated, vehicle-level validation marks a concrete step along that path.
