'Dual globe record' for perovskite tandem solar cells asserted by EPFL, CSEM

• Researchers at EPFL's Photovoltaics and also Thin Film Electronics Laboratory as well as CSEM's Sustainable Energy Centre have actually declared two world records by attaining an effectiveness of over 30% for perovskite-on-silicon-tandem solar cells.

The results have actually been independently certified by the US DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the organisations claimed.

" These outcomes are an increase to high-efficiency photovoltaics and also pave the way towards even more affordable solar power generation."

They claimed that existing solar cells are "basically restricted by the products they are made from" because they are silicon-based with maximum performances forecasted to be 29%, while existing efficiencies standing at around 27%, leaving little space for improvement.

The scientists said they had improved the efficiency of 2 kinds of perovskite-on-silicon tandems. First, they transferred perovskite layers from remedy on a planarised silicon surface area, reaching a power conversion effectiveness of 30.93% for a 1cm squared solar cell.

Second, they utilized a crossbreed vapor/solution handling technique compatible with distinctive silicon surface areas to produce a solar cell with a power conversion performance of 31.25% (once more on 1cm squared cell).

" These results make up 2 new world records: one for the planar and also one for the distinctive gadget style. The latter technique offers a higher current and works with the structure of present industrial silicon solar cells," the researchers claimed.

" Halide perovskites have actually been recognized as an ideal partner for silicon, as they can transform visible light a lot more effectively to electrical power in contrast to silicon alone, without excessively boosting fabrication costs," the study institutes stated.

" We have actually passed a mental barrier," said Christophe Ballif, head of the EPFL Photovoltaics Laboratory and CSEM's Sustainable Energy Centre. "We have confirmed experimentally the high-efficiency possibility of perovskite-on-silicon tandems."

While, the 30% efficiency mark has actually currently been attained with other sorts of materials, specifically III-V semiconductors, Ballif stated "these products and the processes utilized to make them are as well costly to maintain the energy shift".

" Our results are the initial to reveal that the 30% obstacle can be gotten over using inexpensive products and processes, which must open new viewpoints for the future of PV.

In June, Researchers at NREL found that a tin-lead perovskite cell can overcome problems with stability and also enhance effectiveness, with their experiment producing a 25.5% conversion effectiveness.

In March, scientists at the Polytechnic University of Milan located that the chemical procedure of halogen bonding has "substantial possibility for the development of a new generation of solar cells based on perovskites", while a month previously researchers in Saudi Arabia reported the "the first ever" effective damp-heat test of perovskite solar cells, which they declare has actually moved the technology closer in the direction of industrial stability.