Perovskite Solar - Page 2

Researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University have developed a new method to produce halide-homogeneous wide-bandgap (WBG) perovskite films using a blade-coating technique, significantly improving the efficiency and stability of perovskite-organic tandem solar cells.

In conventional WBG perovskite films, the markedly different crystallization rates of bromide (Br⁻) and iodide (I⁻) ions often lead to vertical halide inhomogeneity - Br-rich layers forming near the surface and I-rich regions accumulating near the bottom. This uneven distribution causes considerable open-circuit voltage (VOC) losses and limits device efficiency. To tackle this, the team systematically investigated the vertical halide distribution in large-area films fabricated via gas-quenching blade coating. They then introduced a hydrogen-bonding donor solvent (HBDS), formamide (FM), into the standard N,N′-dimethylformamide (DMF)/dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solvent mix. With its relatively high acceptor number (AN), formamide forms stronger hydrogen bonds with halide ions - especially with the electron-rich Br⁻- and effectively modulates the crystallization kinetics of the two halide species.

A team of researchers, led by the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), has demonstrated a perovskite solar cell architecture that combines exceptional long‑term stability in lab testing with proven performance during a 100‑day mission in low Earth orbit (LEO). The work was led by RIT assistant professor Ahmad Kirmani, whose research at RIT is supported by a nearly $10 million U.S. Space Force grant

The study targets a key Achilles’ heel of metal halide perovskite solar cells: degradation at the interface between the perovskite absorber and the hole transport layer (HTL). Conventional polymer‑ or carbazole‑based HTLs often fail to fully cover the indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate, leaving pathways for degradation and limiting device lifetime and voltage. To address this, the team developed a “multi‑HTL” strategy in which a polymer HTL is reinforced with a phosphonic‑acid modification. This modification improves coverage and protects the buried perovskite interface, while also promoting more columnar perovskite film growth.

PV equipment manufacturer Shenzhen S.C New Energy has shipped its first mass-production turnkey line for flexible perovskite solar modules, expanding from standalone equipment supply to full-line delivery in this segment.

The production line covers core manufacturing processes for flexible perovskite modules, including high-precision cleaning systems; laser scribing equipment for cell isolation and interconnection; multifunctional coating and deposition tools supporting both solution-based and dry processes; and downstream lamination and IV solar simulation testing systems.

Perovskite manufacturer Yanhe Solar has announced that its self-developed tandem perovskite modules have passed simulated extreme space environment tests conducted by satellite enterprises, including China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), meeting aerospace application standards and preparing for on-orbit testing.

The company established a joint laboratory for space computing and energy with Comospace earlier this month to support satellite launches for a space computing center powered by flexible thin-film solar arrays.

Researchers from Soochow University, National Taiwan University and Chang Gung University have developed a co-assembled self-assembled monolayer (SAM) strategy that tackles long-standing buried-interface limitations in inverted perovskite solar cells by combining the widely used Me-4PACz (Me4) with two newly designed donor–acceptor molecules, LYS-H and its fluorinated analogue LYS-F.

Image credit: NTU

In conventional inverted architectures, Me-4PACz SAMs serve as hole-selective layers but often suffer from solution aggregation, poor perovskite precursor wettability, insufficient interfacial contact and suboptimal crystallinity at the buried perovskite interface, all of which contribute to non-radiative recombination losses and limit device performance. To overcome these issues, the team designed LYS-H and LYS-F with a donor-acceptor backbone that strengthens the interfacial dipole, thereby facilitating more efficient hole extraction while introducing functional groups that can effectively passivate defects at the buried perovskite surface.

According to reports, a consortium in Japan is conducting an agrivoltaics pilot project involving film-type perovskite solar cells installed above rice paddies.

The initiative aims to examine energy generation alongside agricultural production. The project involves five partners: Sekisui Solar Film, Terra Inc, Himawari Green Energy, Chiba University, and Chiba Bank. Sekisui Solar Film supplies the solar cells, while Terra handles construction and maintenance. Himawari Green Energy is assessing business feasibility, and Chiba University is providing the fields and evaluating impacts on farming and crops. Chiba Bank offers financial support. 

Hanwha Solutions has announced a plan to accelerate its solar technology roadmap, including a significant push into perovskite tandem solar cells. The South Korean energy and materials company approved a 2.4 trillion KRW (≈ US$1.6 billion) rights offering aimed at both strengthening its balance sheet and funding next-generation solar investments.

According to various reports, approximately 1.5 trillion KRW of the raised funds will go toward debt repayment and the remaining funds are earmarked for solar innovation and capacity expansion:

• 100 billion KRW will fund a perovskite tandem pilot production line.
• 800 billion KRW will support mass production expansion, including building gigawatt-scale facilities and expanding TOPCon (Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact) cell output.

Researchers from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Fudan University have developed a unified colloidal-chemistry strategy that pushes all-perovskite tandem solar cells (TSCs) close to 30% efficiency, while directly targeting the crystallization mismatch between their subcells.

Tandem solar cells stack two photoactive layers so that each subcell absorbs a different portion of the solar spectrum, enabling higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) than single-junction devices. All-perovskite TSCs, which use perovskite absorbers in both the wide-bandgap (WBG) and narrow-bandgap (NBG) subcells, are particularly attractive and have a theoretical efficiency potential above 40%. In practice, however, their performance has been limited by mismatched crystallization kinetics: the WBG and NBG perovskites form and grow via different pathways, which can lead to phase segregation, non-uniform grain growth, and a high density of defects at interfaces and grain boundaries.

GCL System Integration Technology (GCL SI), a company under the GCL Technology Holdings clean‑energy group, together with Soochow University and Yangzhou University, recently initiated drafting group standards for testing and performance verification of 3-terminal crystalline silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells.

GCL SI said that 3-terminal perovskite tandem technology based on back-contact (BC) cells currently faces industrialization challenges due to a lack of unified testing standards, leading to poor data comparability and inconsistent performance evaluation. The proposed standards will address issues such as unique electrode configurations, spectral mismatch, and stability testing by defining testing procedures, parameter definitions, and data processing rules.

Researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Technical University of Munich (TUM), DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchroton), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and additional institutes recently demonstrated how rapid temperature swings drive degradation in state-of-the-art wide-bandgap perovskite and tandem solar cells - and how molecular design can significantly improve their resilience.

The team investigated triple‑cation wide‑bandgap (WBG) perovskite solar cells with a bandgap of about 1.68 eV and a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.31% in 0.05 cm² devices, employing dual passivation based on 3‑fluorophenethylammonium iodide (3‑F‑PEAI) and ethylenediamine diiodide (EDAI₂). Under rapid solar‑thermal cycling with a temperature change rate of around 10 °C/min, they found that device degradation is largely independent of the initial passivation strategy and instead follows a universal two‑regime pattern. The first regime is a pronounced burn‑in phase, during which the cells can lose about 60% of their relative performance over the first cycles, followed by a second regime of steadier degradation where photovoltaic parameters fluctuate with temperature but evolve more slowly.