SunFlex (Suzhou Shangrou/SunFlex New Energy)

SunFlex (Suzhou Shangrou/SunFlex New Energy Co., Ltd.) is a China-based developer and manufacturer of flexible perovskite solar cells. The company was founded by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Academician Li Yongfang and Researcher Meng Lei, and builds on more than a decade of perovskite-related research at Soochow University.

SunFlex focuses on two core technology tracks: flexible perovskite/organic tandem cells and flexible perovskite/CIGS two‑terminal tandem cells, and has developed an integrated technology system covering material design, device optimization, large‑area film preparation, encapsulation, and application‑scenario validation.

The company operates a megawatt‑scale flexible perovskite mass‑production line together with a pilot line for tandem solar cells, and has established a flexible perovskite solar cell production line in Zhuji, Zhejiang Province that entered trial production in early 2026 with an annual design capacity of around 6 million pieces. SunFlex collaborates closely with academic partners through the Soochow University–SunFlex Photovoltaic Innovation Research Institute; key contributors include Soochow University professors Li Yaowen and Chen Xiankai, and Southeast University professor Zhang Tiankai, who serves as SunFlex’s chief scientist and the institute’s dean.

In July 2026, research teams affiliated with SunFlex published two papers in Nature in the same month. The first, led by Li Yongfang’s team, introduced a photoconversion additive to stabilize wide‑bandgap perovskite/organic tandem cells, achieving a certified steady‑state efficiency of 28.04% (28.80% peak) and retaining 90% of initial performance after 625 hours of ISOS‑L‑1 stability testing. The second, led by Li Yaowen, Chen Xiankai and Zhang Tiankai, developed a new self‑assembled monolayer molecule to address interface desorption, reaching certified efficiencies of 27.69% (rigid), 26.64% (flexible) and 23.63% (15.64 cm² module), with devices retaining over 98% of initial efficiency after 720 thermal cycles between −40 °C and 85 °C.

SunFlex has also moved into space applications: in July 2026 it signed a strategic cooperation agreement with aerospace company Nayuta Space to jointly develop what the companies describe as China’s first 400 m² rollable flexible perovskite solar sail for satellites, intended to deliver more than 120 kW of power to support an 80 kW onboard computing system on Nayuta Space’s computing satellite. The company positions its target markets as consumer electronics, outdoor equipment, smart home devices and space photovoltaics.