Perovskite solar production

It was reported that solar production equipment maker Maxwell recently held the groundbreaking ceremony for its HJT perovskite tandem cell equipment facility, located in Wujiang District, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. 

The company is investing about RMB 5.4 billion ($750.16 million) in the facility focused on research and manufacturing of next-generation HJT perovskite tandem cells. The construction is scheduled to be completed within 2 years.

U.S-based University of Vermont spinoff, Verde Technologies, has reported progress with its thin film coating technology in a pilot with contract manufacturer Verico Technology, demonstrating that its coating processes are transferable to existing commercial roll-to-roll manufacturing lines.

The companies completed the deposition of perovskite solution on a flexible substrate measuring 76.2 cm x 6,096 cm using standard manufacturing processes, equipment, and environmental conditions. The novel coating tool and process received the name Verde Slot Coating.

Reports suggest that Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Denisa Sakova, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan's Sekisui Chemical.

Sekisui Chemical is designing lightweight perovskite solar technology and aims to commercialize its flexible panels in 2025. “We are interested not only in working together on the expansion of this technology in Slovakia, but at the same time we also want to explore the possibilities of locating the production of such panels in our country,” said Sakova.

Shenzhen Hiking PV has announced plans to set up a joint venture with a state-run investment company to build gigawatt-level perovskite/polysilicon tandem cell and panel production lines in a new factory in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, China. 

The factory is planned to have a total capacity of 7 GW of perovskite/polysilicon tandem cells, with an investment of CNY 5 billion (around USD$700 million). The plan is to build the plant in three phases.

Switzerland-based Perovskia recently announced it is establishing a factory in Aubonne, Switzerland, to produce a million custom-designed perovskite devices annually. 

Perovskia is a spinoff of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA). It was founded to develop the market for customized perovskite solar devices as battery replacements. 

Canada-based Solaires Entreprises, developer of sustainable and scalable perovskite-based photovoltaic modules, has announced the launch of its first
production line. 

Solaires deployed its fully functional pilot production line where it will be producing PV modules for customers. The pilot production line is located in Langford, BC, Canada.

China-based RenShine Solar has announced the completion of its 150MW perovskite PV module project in Changsgu, which started in April 2023. 

The Company said it has switched on the 150 MW perovskite cell production line. The China-based perovskite manufacturer aims to achieve mass-scale production of perovskite panels with a size of 1.2m*0.6m and an efficiency of 20% by mid-2024. It said it will focus on the development of gigawatt-level production lines to further expand its capacity. 

Chinese energy company Akcome has announced an investment of approximately 1 billion RMB (~USD 140 million) to establish a research and production base for heterojunction-perovskite tandem solar cells.

The initiative will be led by Akcome’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Zhejiang Akcome Future Technology Co., Ltd., in collaboration with the Hangzhou Qianjiang Economic Development Zone Management Committee.

GCL Group Holdings, a major Chinese solar materials maker, has reportedly begun building 'the world's biggest perovskite solar cell factory' in the city of Suzhou.

The plant’s production capacity will reach two gigawatts, according to GCL Photoelectric Materials. The new facility will be built in two phases and the products will be 2.4 meters in length and 1.2 meters in width, the Company'srecent statement specified.

Hanwha Qcells recently announced it will be closing its 3.5GW module factory in South Korea, in response to the stagnant solar market in the country. It was reported that the total installed capacity of solar power in South Korea has been continuously decreasing over the past three years, from 4.7GW in 2020 to 3.4GW in 2022, and is expected to further decrease in 2023.

Closing the factory comes as part of a plan to optimize Hanwha's photovoltaic module production capacity. However, Hanwha stated that it will continue to invest in its factory in Jincheon, South Korea, which will continue to produce TOPCon products and operate a perovskite tandem cell pilot line.