🔬Research StageRenewable Energy • Solar

Perovskite Solar Cells

Perovskite solar cells use a crystal structure material (typically methylammonium lead iodide) that can achieve high efficiency at low cost. Laboratory cells have reached efficiencies over 25%, with commercial targets of 20%+ efficiency at costs below $0.20 per watt. The technology promises to revolutionize solar energy through flexible, lightweight panels that can be printed or painted onto surfaces.

Important Considerations

Stability and durability issues remain unsolved. Manufacturing scalability and toxic material concerns under investigation.

How It Works

Perovskite materials have a crystal structure (ABX₃) where A and B are cations and X is an anion. These materials efficiently absorb light across the solar spectrum and convert it to electricity through photovoltaic processes. Perovskite cells can be manufactured using solution processing at low temperatures (< 150°C), enabling roll-to-roll printing on flexible substrates. Tandem cells combine perovskite with silicon to achieve efficiencies above 30%.

Advantages

Potentially very low manufacturing costs due to solution processing, high efficiency potential (>25% demonstrated), flexible and lightweight form factors, can be semi-transparent for building integration, rapid manufacturing processes using printing techniques, and strong performance in low-light conditions.

Challenges

Stability issues with degradation in moisture and heat, contains lead which raises environmental concerns, limited commercial availability with no large-scale production, durability questions for 25-year operational lifetime, efficiency drops under real-world conditions, and manufacturing scalability challenges.