The technology of perovskite solar cells might be young, but predictions are that it’s almost ready to bust out of the lab and revolutionise the photovoltaic industry.
Just 12 years after the first research into the use of perovskite in solar cells, the International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaic – a projection of technologies published by the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) using data from photovoltaic experts – has forecast that the material will be in commercial use in photovoltaic cells by 2025.
Whether these bold new solar cells hit markets next year or in 2025, there’s agreement among experts that they will transform solar panels.
It’s a timeline that Dr Greg Wilson, site leader at the CSIRO Energy Centre in Newcastle, NSW, says is realistic.
“I’d follow the pundits and the roadmap when they say an introduction for a commercial product is somewhere around 2025,” he says. “It’s early days for it to be commercialised, but it’s doing very well in terms of R&D and the potential for commercialisation given [the technology] is just 12 years old.”
There are others with bolder projections, including Henry Snaith, one of perovskite cells’ development pioneers. A professor of physics at the University of Oxford, UK, Snaith founded Oxford PV in 2010, just a year after researchers first trialled perovskite solar cells. Oxford PV is considered a world leader in the development of perovskite cells, and it will likely be among the first companies to have cells to market.
Oxford PV’s tandem solar cells include a perovskite layer over the traditional silicon. Credit: Oxford PV
“There are a number of companies working on slightly different applications of perovskites in photovoltaics,” says Snaith. “At Oxford PV, we’ve been running a pilot line for the last few years proving out the technology and getting it ready for high-volume manufacturing.
“We have built out a first-of-a-kind perovskite-on-silicon production line, with an initial annual production capacity of 100 megawatts. The plan is to have this line operational next year, with initial volumes of commercial cells and modules entering the market in 2022.”
Whether these bold new solar cells hit markets next year or in 2025, there’s agreement among experts that they will transform solar panels.
Perovskite is a naturally occurring mineral of calcium titanium oxide that was discovered in Russia’s Ural Mountains in 1839 and named after Russian mineralogist Lev Perovski (1792–1856). Today, perovskite refers to chemical compounds that have the same type of crystal structure as calcium titanium oxide.
Perovskite refers to chemical compounds that have the same type of crystal structure as calcium titanium dioxide.
The first research on perovskite solar cells was undertaken in 2009 by Japanese engineer Tsutomu Miyasaka and colleagues. They created a cell with a power conversion efficiency of just 3.8% – …….