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.
Verde technologies explained that its process can achieve the scalability associated with slot-die coating, while significantly accelerating iteration cycles and film optimization, enabling rapid progress on a small scale with findings that are transferable to large commercial roll-to-roll systems, as the pilot with Verico aims to show.
The Vermont-based company intends to develop single junction and all thin-film tandem perovskite solar technologies. Its perovskite cell technology has reportedly a lab-scale power conversion efficiency of above 21%.
Verde's next phase of development will reportedly be focused on outdoor testing of modules with early customers as well as testing with the Perovskite PV Accelerator for Commercializing Technologies (PACT) consortium and at new solar research and testing facility recently opened in Burlington, Vermont.
Verde’s commercial aim is to initially target repowering projects, typically utility scale projects exchanging end-of-life panels with higher-performing panels, before expanding to other lightweight PV segments, such as “large commercial metal and membrane” rooftops.
The Company was able to tap into national U.S. research and development programs. For example, last summer Verde entered a collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Northern Illinois University (NIU) which gives it access to some of NREL’s perovskite breakthroughs, such as lead sequestration and active encapsulation.
Verde also has an exclusive partnership with the University of Toledo to commercialize its perovskite cell technology with promising stability performance.
