Researchers have made progress with a so-called miracle material, which is breaking efficiency records in generating electricity from solar cells.
A team from Chinese solar technology company LONGi has set a new world record for a tandem solar cell made of 33.9% silicon and perovskite, surpassing the previous record set by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in May this year . . year. .
This new efficiency record also exceeds the theoretical limit of 33.7% for a standard single cell commercial solar module for the first time.
“This provides significant experimental data to demonstrate the performance superiority of tandem crystalline silicon solar cells and perovskite solar cells compared to single-sided crystalline silicon solar cells,” the company said in a statement.
“The emergence of tandem crystal silicon and perovskite technology has opened up new avenues for the development of next-generation high-efficiency solar cell technology, meaning that the same area that absorbs the same light can emit more energy.”
The theoretical efficiency limit for silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells is 43%, but this value is unlikely to be achieved on a commercial scale.
The first production of high-efficiency perovskite solar panels could begin in China, where researchers at Nanjing University said earlier this year that design advances could make mass production possible.
According to the researchers, the next generation of panels will be 50% cheaper and 50% more efficient than traditional silicon cells, but their efficiency will still be far from the values achieved in the laboratory.
British startup Oxford PV, a spin-out company from Oxford University, is in the process of commercializing the technology, with hopes of starting large-scale production at its German facility by the end of this year.
“Today's silicon solar cells have reached their physical limits. We have a way to change the efficiency of these solar cells by using perovskite .
“The biggest challenge so far is stability and reliability. We already have significant efficiencies, well above the efficiencies of today's silicon cells, so most of our research and development is invested in improving reliability, not efficiency.
Perovskite has been hailed as a “miracle material” for its potential to revolutionize everything from high-speed communications to renewable energy technology.
The potential of solar cells lies not only in their greater efficiency compared to traditional silicon cells, but also in the possibility of new uses.
Recent developments include self-healing solar cells, which can maintain their performance for tens or hundreds of years, and double-sided solar panels, which can generate electricity from the sun's energy on both sides.
This material can also be used in applications ranging from solar panels integrated into buildings to power generation in space.
