A new consensus statement on how to test reliability and stability of perovskite solar cells lays out a path to achieving the long-term goal of high performance, durability and reliability of perovskite photovoltaic technology for wide scale industrial integration, according to a recently published article in
Nature Energy.
Photovoltaic (PV) energy plays an important role in the transition to climate neutrality. A possible game-changing technology to accelerate this process is perovskite PV.
A new class of perovskite solar cell has attracted interest with its fast improvements in power conversion efficiency (with current laboratory records of 25.2% comparable to conventional technologies).
While several industrial manufacturing groups are working on bringing this technology to market, understanding and quantifying the energy generation potential of these exciting new materials had been challenging until now. However, Giorgio Bardizza, researcher at the JRC’s
European Solar Testing Installation (ESTI), together with a wide network of researchers in the field have developed a consensus position on how to test reliability and stability of perovskite solar cells.
Unlike crystalline silicon, perovskite solar cells are flexible, lightweight and semi-transparent thin film devices, compatible with printing processes, which translates to lower manufacturing cost and flexible modules production compared to other PV solutions. Perovskite solar cells also respond well in low and diffuse light, making them particularly suitable for niche markets, such as building-integrated PV, indoor applications, wearables or even electric vehicles.
Summing up the potential impact of these new materials on the future development of solar photovoltaics, the
journal editor writes: “The systematic approach outlined in the Consensus Statement will hopefully help uncover degradation pathways of perovskite solar cells and foster transparency and reproducibility in the field”. This is a key enabler to achieve consumer and investor confidence for a rapid scale-up of perovskite PV deployment.
Background
Photovoltaics (PV) is a key technology option in renewable energy sources for realising a decarbonised power sector, thus helping limit global warming to 1.5 °C, as acknowledged in the Paris Agreement and in the recent new European Green Deal.
In 2018 worldwide production reached 113GW of new photovoltaic modules and markets forecast were a further 15% growth in 2019. The photovoltaic sector attracted 42.3% of all new renewable energy investments (equivalent to EUR 122Billion). In order to maintain the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) at its current level of 40% over the last 15 years we require in addition to the industrial strategies to invest in new photovoltaic materials.