Hybrids and related materials - Page 5

Researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) have demonstrated 25.5% efficiency for monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells using textured foil. In addition, the impact of texture position on performance and energy yield is simulated in their new work.

Tandem solar cell device schematics of the experimentally realized architecture and SEM cross section image of the top cell

The research team used a textured light management (LM) foil on the front-side of a tandem solar cell processed on a wafer with planar front-side and textured back-side. Consequently, the PCE of monolithic, 2-terminal perovskite/silicon-heterojunction tandem solar cells was improved from 23.4% to 25.5%. This approach replaced the use of textured silicon wafers, that can be utilized for light management but are typically not compatible with perovskite solution processing.

Korver Corp., an emerging solar and renewable energy company, has provided an update regarding the Company's new strategic direction in the solar energy sector. Korver has now decided to focus on its mission to develop high-efficiency commercially-manufactured Perovskite Silicon Tandem (PST) solar cells.

Mark Brown, President and CEO of Korver Corp., stated, "Our prior research has resulted in the development of highly efficient Perovskite Silicon Tandem solar cells. We plan to reach an efficiency mark of over 30% on a commercial scale by combining perovskite solar with the best silicon technologies on the market today and our own proprietary innovations. Currently, we are working towards scalability and commercial manufacturing of our PST solar cells that could change the way the world produces and consumes energy on a grand scale. We are excited to take the first mover advantage with the next big thing in solar energy."

imec, the world-leading research and innovation hub, recently presented an impressive thin-film tandem solar cell at the EU PVSEC conference. The cell consists of a top perovskite cell developed by imec within the partnerships of EnergyVille and Solliance, and a bottom CIGS cell from the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW, Stuttgart, Germany). The tandem cell resulting from this collaboration achieves a record efficiency of 24.6%.

The perovskite top cell in the tandem uses light in the visible part of the solar spectrum, while the light in the near-IR spectrum that passes through the perovskite cell is harvested by the underlying CIGS cell. In this way, the tandem cell significantly outperforms the stand-alone perovskite and CIGS cells. Moreover, both perovskite and CIGS cells are thin-film solar cells, paving the way to high efficiency flexible solar cells and building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solutions.

Ascent Solar Technologies, a manufacturer of flexible thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solutions, has been selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE), supported by the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF), for two exclusive development projects.

As part of the awards, worth up to $100,000 each, Ascent Solar is to work towards commercialization of sputtered Zn(O,S) buffers in flexible CIGS solar cells and also development of next-generation, high-efficiency Perovskite/CIGS tandem cell. These projects are part of Ascent Solar's plans for next-generation lightweight and flexible solar cells.

UCLA researchers have recently reported a highly efficient thin-film solar cell with a double-layer design that converts 22.4% of the incoming energy from the sun. The device is made by spraying a thin layer of perovskite onto a commercially available solar cell. The solar cell that forms the bottom layer of the device is made of a compound of copper, indium, gallium and selenide, or CIGS.

The performance was reportedly confirmed in independent tests at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The UCLA device's efficiency rate is similar to that of the poly-silicon solar cells that currently dominate the photovoltaics market.

Oxford Photovoltaics (PV) has been awarded a €2.8 million grant from the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy to prepare perovskite-silicon solar cells for high-volume manufacturing. The technology consortium is by headed by Oxford PV and includes specialist PV equipment manufacturer VON ARDENNE and three German institutes, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the Technical University of Berlin.

The newly funded project focuses on the optimization of the perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell architecture, to make further efficiency improvements on industrial 156 mm x 156 mm wafer formats. Importantly, this will include the refinement of industrial scale process technology as well as life-cycle analysis on the social-environmental impact of such cells.

Researchers from Lahore University and Benha University have proposed an interesting configuration of combination of solar materials that can possibly boost total electricity output by 10-30% ' reportedly reaching between 30-36% efficiency.

(a)bifacial per/Si double-tandem cell (b)standalone bifacial single-tandem cell (c)PVK cell (d)Si heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer solar cell

The researchers describe the cell: "a 3-T, four-junction perovskite/silicon double-tandem (PSDT) solar cell structure that can efficiently harvest light in all ranges of albedo by stacking two tandem perovskite/silicon cells in a flipped configuration with a common (middle) terminal".

Researchers from Arizona State University's Fulton Schools of Engineering have calculated that a 32% efficient perovskite-silicon tandem cell could produce electricity at the same price as cutting-edge 22% efficient panels in the most cost-competitive of situations.

The paper specifies: '…a large cost benefit will not necessarily be needed to prefer tandem systems over single-junction systems, because higher efficiencies bring additional perceived benefits such as reduced installation area. It is, however, necessary that the path leading to such a tandem be continuously profitable.'

Imec, the leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics, energy and digital technology, within the partnership of EnergyVille, announced a record result for its 4-terminal perovskite/silicon tandem photovoltaic cell. In fact, with a reported power conversion efficiency of 27.1%, the new tandem cell tops the most efficient standalone silicon solar cell. Further careful engineering of the Perovskite material will bring efficiencies over 30% in reach.

Imec's new record tandem cell uses a 0.13 cm² spin-coated perovskite cell developed within the Solliance cooperation, stacked on top of a 4 cm² industrial interdigitated back-contact (IBC) silicon cell in a 4-terminal configuration, which is known to have a higher annual energy yield compared to a 2-terminal configuration. Additionally, scaling up the tandem device by using a 4 cm² perovskite module on a 4 cm² IBC silicon cell, a tandem efficiency of 25.3% was achieved, surpassing the stand-alone efficiency of the silicon cell.

Oxford Photovoltaics has reported a new perovskite tandem solar cell record, certified by Fraunhofer ISE at a conversion efficiency of 27.3%. Oxford PV's latest record for a 1 cm² perovskite-silicon tandem solar, reportedly exceeds the 26.7% efficiency world record for a single-junction silicon solar cell.

Oxford PV recently produced a 1 cm² perovskite-silicon two-terminal tandem solar cell with a verified conversion efficiency of 25.2%, through an ongoing collaboration with Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics Device Group at the University of Oxford, led by Professor Snaith.