Tandem

Trinasolar has announced that its innovation platform has achieved a critical technological milestone. Setting its sights on Space PV, the platform has reportedly "broken the world record for power output with its large-area (3.1 m²) perovskite/crystalline silicon tandem modules, reaching 886W". This achievement, along with significant efficiency gains in perovskite/P-type heterojunction (HJT) tandem cells, signals a step toward the next generation of space-based energy. 

While gallium arsenide (GaAs) cells currently dominate space applications, their high cost remains a barrier. As demand for LEO communications and space computing surges, crystalline silicon cells and perovskite cells are expected to see rapid adoption. In particular, P-type HJT and perovskite tandem technologies have emerged as the primary focus for the next generation of Space PV. Trina solar is executing a forward-looking strategy in the Space Solar sector. The company’s exploration in this field dates back a decade, when it took the lead in conducting irradiation testing and research on silicon solar cells under space-environment conditions. These early initiatives allowed it to accumulate experimental data and engineering experience, providing a foundation for subsequent technical evolution. 

It was reported that Maxwell has signed a full-line supply contract for Perovskite/SHJ tandem cells with a Chinese new energy company, marking its first commercial full-line order in the tandem cell field. This collaboration will enable the client to establish a mass production line for G12H full-size cells.

Maxwell’s full-line tandem cell solution leverages its G12H large-size and full-area technology platform, covering the entire cell manufacturing process. The solution delivers key advantages such as high efficiency, large capacity, intelligence, automation, and cost-effectiveness. It integrates several core technologies, including vacuum technology for high film quality and stability, pre-deposition printing technology that significantly reduces material costs, inkjet printing technology that combines high material utilization with high throughput, and efficient, high-throughput plate-type temporal Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) technology.

At a recent PV conference, Solarlab Aiko Europe, a Germany-based research unit of Chinese back-contact (BC) module manufacturer Aiko, delivered an update on its perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell research based on two-terminal (2T) and three-terminal (3T) tandem configurations. 

AIKO's latest 2T perovskite-silicon tandem lab-scale cell reportedly achieved a power conversion efficiency of 34.76%. The tandem, which had a heterojunction (HJT) silicon bottom cell, was developed in collaboration with researchers at Aiko headquarters and its state-of-the-art Yiwu R&D line. Interface engineering and material passivation methods were used to reduce efficiency losses and enhance stability. 

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Trina Solar have reported a new vapor-deposition method that improves the long-term and high-temperature stability of perovskite-silicon (Si) tandem solar cells.

The team stated that this is the first time vapor deposition has been successfully applied to industrial micrometer-textured silicon wafers, the actual wafer structure used in commercial solar cells manufacturing, marking a milestone for translating laboratory-scale tandem solar cells into real-world products.

RenShine Solar has announced that its self-developed perovskite-silicon tandem module has achieved a certified power conversion efficiency of 31.7% on an area of 384.02 cm², as verified by TÜV SÜD. According to the company, this result sets a new world record for 4-terminal tandem modules at this size.

Last month, the company reported another efficiency milestone, with its 2-terminal perovskite/silicon tandem module achieving 28% efficiency on a 386.13 cm² area. Separately, it also reported achieving 24% efficiency on a 30 × 40 cm single-junction perovskite module while its large-format 1.2 m × 0.6 m perovskite module reached a full-area efficiency above 22%.

Chinese PV manufacturer Yingli Solar has announced an expansion strategy with a strong focus on technological innovation. A recent interview with Andrés Casallas, the Company's Lead Manager for the Andean region, revealed that the company plans to move forward with the development of tandem modules, aiming to increase energy conversion efficiency per square meter.

“We want to continue investing in innovation and R&D, something the company has always done. We are pioneers in N-type technology, and now we want to integrate perovskite in order to deliver tandem cells in the near future,” said Casallas in the interview, conducted during the Future Energy Summit (FES) Chile.

Italian solar company, FuturaSun (which acquired Solertix a few years ago), and Eniverse, Eni’s Corporate Venture Builder, have established SunXT, aiming "to bring the next generation of perovskite photovoltaics to market."

SunXT is a new venture with the goal of jointly developing perovskite - silicon tandem photovoltaic panels to contribute to the energy transition pathway. SunXT builds on the experience of Solertix, a deep-tech start-up, among the first in Europe to develop perovskite cells and now the Italian center of excellence within the FuturaSun Group for tandem photovoltaics.

Researchers from Empa, Sichuan University, National Tsing Hua University, Fluxim AG, ETH Zürich and the Slovak Academy of Sciences have shown that vertical phase segregation in ultra-thin PEDOT:PSS creates interfacial dipoles that limit flexible perovskite tandems, and that adding Triton X‑100 to PEDOT:PSS suppresses these dipoles and boosts device efficiency.

Flexible all-perovskite tandem solar cells (TSCs) hold great promise as lightweight, high-efficiency power sources for portable and aerospace applications. However, their performance and reproducibility have been constrained by losses at the interface of narrow-bandgap (NBG) sub-cells, particularly involving the commonly used hole-transport layer, poly(3,4‑ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). The team found that ultra-thin PEDOT:PSS films naturally develop a vertically segregated structure: an insulating PSS-rich surface layer atop a conductive PEDOT-rich base. This vertical phase segregation creates interfacial electric dipoles that impede efficient hole extraction, leading to loss in current density, fill factor, and device uniformity.

The SUNPEROM (Solar-Driven Perovskite Tandem for Methanol Production) project, running from November 2025 until October 2029 and funded with almost €3 million under The European Innovation Council (EIC), aims to transform renewable energy by developing a solar-driven system for direct methanol synthesis from atmospheric CO₂. 

The primary objective is to achieve a Solar-to-Methanol efficiency exceeding 12% through the creation of an innovative, cost-effective tandem device. This device features a high-voltage perovskite-perovskite solar conversion stack and an advanced near-infrared (NIR) photocatalyst-mixed gas diffusion layer for efficient CO₂ capture and conversion, utilizing the full solar spectrum.

An international research collaboration involving City University of Hong Kong, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Marmara University, Kaneka Corporation, and Shenzhen MOLEC New Energy Technology has reported an advance in perovskite - silicon tandem photovoltaics, achieving a certified power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 31.4% on industry-compatible Czochralski (CZ) silicon substrates.

The recent work focuses on the molecular engineering of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) that mediate charge recombination at the perovskite/silicon interface. Conventional alkyl-chain-based SAMs often exhibit aggregation on textured silicon, leading to inefficient charge transport. To overcome this limitation, the team synthesized a conjugated linker SAM, (4-(7H-dibenzo[c,g]carbazol-7-yl)phenyl)phosphonic acid (Bz-PhpPACz), designed to enable efficient hole extraction and uniform coverage on pyramidally textured surfaces.