Flexibility - Page 2

A team of researchers, led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has developed a generalizable strategy to control crystallization kinetics in all-perovskite tandem solar cells, enabling certified power conversion efficiencies of 30.3% in rigid devices and 28.0% in flexible configurations.

Synchronized crystallization drives efficient rigid and flexible perovskite tandems. Image credit: NIMTE

All-perovskite tandems can enable high efficiency and compatibility with low-temperature solution processing. However, their performance has been consistently limited by asynchronous crystallization in multicomponent perovskite systems. This effect arises from mismatched coordination chemistry and crystallization rates among mixed halide systems and Pb²⁺/Sn²⁺ cations, leading to vertical compositional gradients, structural inhomogeneity, and elevated non-radiative recombination losses.

Hefei Puskey New Energy Technology has announced that its CVD dry process pilot line has successfully completed its first production run on a 300 mm × 300 mm large-area PET substrate. The company also revealed that the first flexible perovskite solar module produced using a fully CVD dry process has rolled off the line.

The newly produced module is based on Puskey’s proprietary coherent vapor phase (CVD) deposition technology. Unlike conventional solution-based methods, this dry process eliminates the need for organic solvents, offering a cleaner and more controllable manufacturing route. The resulting modules combine several advantages, including high power-to-weight ratio, improved stability, uniformity over large areas, and potentially lower production costs.

Researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have demonstrated fully vacuum‑processed ultrathin perovskite solar cells with MAPbI₃ absorber layers down to around 10 nm, achieving multi‑percent efficiency together with high transparency for building‑integrated use.

The team thermally evaporated MAPbI₃ in a planar p–i–n architecture and varied the absorber thickness from about 10 nm to several hundred nanometers. Devices with 10 nm, 30 nm, and 60 nm layers reached power conversion efficiencies of roughly 7%, 11%, and 12%, respectively, with open‑circuit voltage and fill factor remaining comparable to conventional 300–900 nm “bulk” devices, indicating low trap density and good optoelectronic quality.

TNO has announced the successful application of a perovskite solar module on foil to a roof tile. In doing do, the Dutch research organization has taken a step toward embedding solar generation directly into building materials.

Perovskite solar roof tile. Image credit: TNO

The test modules reached efficiencies of up to 13.8%, and even after installation on a curved composite roof tile, maintained 12.4% efficiency. These results show that bending the flexible perovskite foil has only a minimal impact on performance, highlighting the suitability of this technology for real-world architectural applications.

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.

Researchers from India's University of Calcutta have developed a flexible, lead-free perovskite solar cell that combines recycled indium tin oxide, a PET substrate, and a barium-doped Cs₂SnCl₆ absorber to deliver a power conversion efficiency of 4.95%, up from 0.79% for the undoped material. The study also shows that the device retains stability over 30 days and remains mechanically robust after 100 bending cycles, pointing to a credible route toward wearable, low-toxicity photovoltaics.

The team emphasized the use of indium tin oxide reclaimed from electronic waste, rather than freshly manufactured ITO. That transparent electrode is deposited on a PET plastic substrate, which keeps the device lightweight and flexible while also lowering the environmental footprint of the stack. The absorber is a lead-free double-perovskite composition, Cs₂(Ba_xSn_1-x)Cl₆ with x=0.1, so 10% of the Sn site is replaced by Ba.

A team of researchers from China has developed a new strategy that tackles crystallographic defects and impurities that cause non-radiative recombination, a key limiting factor for large-area, flexible perovskite photovoltaics. The team demonstrated in situ defect detection and laser-based repair to improve film quality across large areas.

In the new approach, regions with high densities of crystallographic defects and impurities were identified and visually depicted through photoluminescence quantum yield and Urbach energy measurements. A 450 nm laser was then used to precisely and rapidly repair these defective regions, leading to a significant reduction in defect content compared with pristine perovskite films.

Researchers from Johannes Kepler University Linz, California Institute of Technology, University of Potsdam and HZB have shown that quasi‑2D perovskite solar cells (PSCs) can operate efficiently and stably over tens of days in low Earth orbit (LEO), underscoring their potential for lightweight, low‑cost space power systems. PSCs are particularly attractive for such applications because they combine solution‑processable, cost‑effective fabrication with ultrathin, flexible devices that deliver high power‑to‑weight ratios, making them well suited for deployable structures where reducing payload mass is critical.

The devices were tested on the Space Solar Power Demonstrator One (SSPD‑1) satellite, launched aboard SpaceX’s Transporter‑6 in early 2023. Over a 9‑month mission in LEO, SSPD‑1 investigated key technologies for cost‑effective space‑based solar power, including lightweight deployable structures, scalable wireless power transmission, and radiation‑tolerant photovoltaics. A dedicated payload, ALBA, evaluated several novel PV technologies, among them quasi‑2D PSCs. During the mission, ALBA recorded more than 3 million short‑circuit current density (Jsc) and open‑circuit voltage (Voc) measurements, alongside over 200 000 current density–voltage (J–V) sweeps, providing an extensive dataset on metal‑halide perovskite device behavior under real orbital conditions with repeated day–night cycles and thermal swings.

Researchers from India's CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organization have developed a predominantly dry, low-temperature fabrication process for flexible all-inorganic perovskite solar cells, combining material sustainability with high device performance.

The device structure - PET/ITO/rGO–SnO₂ (or rGO–TiO₂)/CsSn₁‑yGeᵧI₃/MoOₓ/Carbon - integrates lead-free CsSn₁‑yGeᵧI₃ absorbers and graphene-modified electron transport layers, enabling a power conversion efficiency of 19.2% with enhanced operational and mechanical stability. The architecture employs MoOₓ as a dopant-free hole transport layer with favorable energy-level alignment, while minimizing solvent use throughout fabrication.

Perovskite manufacturer Mellow Energy (AKA Vein Energy) has announced that its self-developed 30×30 cm² flexible perovskite solar module has achieved a power conversion efficiency of 21.13%, as certified by TÜV NORD. The company claims this result represents a record conversion efficiency for flexible perovskite modules at the same area scale.

Mellow Energy added that it is accelerating demonstration validation and scenario deployment across multiple fields, including consumer electronics, mobile energy, vehicle-integrated PV, aerospace, and satellites, to promote the transition of perovskite products toward scaled application and commercialization.