An international team of scientists, including ones from King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) and University of Toronto, set out to increase the performance of solar panels by creating a bifacial (two-sided) tandem solar cell, made of perovskite and silicon materials.
Image credit: U of T
In outdoor environments, light primarily comes directly from the sun. Conventional tandem solar cells can already convert this light into electricity more efficiently compared to traditional silicon-only solar cells by absorbing additional wavelengths of light. Now, the researchers have realized that even more energy can be gathered using a two-sided tandem configuration. Light reflected and scattered from the ground ' referred to as 'albedo' ' can also be collected to significantly increase the current of a tandem solar cell. The new research outlines how the team engineered the perovskite/silicon device to exceed the currently accepted performance limits for the tandem configuration.
The potential for capturing indirect sunlight has been studied in the past, but without sufficient experimental verification. In addition to University of Toronto, KAUST researchers worked with collaborators from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and the University of Bologna to solve the scientific and engineering challenges required to include indirect sunlight in the energy gathering capacity of their modules.
With this knowledge at hand, they tested the bifacial tandem solar cell in outdoor conditions, achieving efficiencies beyond any commercial silicon solar panel.
'Bifacial silicon-only solar cells are rapidly taken an increasing share in the photovoltaics market, as they can lead to a performance gain of 20% relative. Exploiting this concept in perovskite/silicon tandems now opens opportunities for ultra-high power generation at affordable cost' concluded Professor Stefaan De Wolf (KAUST).