A research team from the National University of Singapore has set a new power conversion efficiency record for solar cells they developed using perovskite and organic materials.
With a power conversion efficiency of 23.6%, it is the best performance for this type of solar cell to date. Currently the most prevalent technology in the solar PV market is that of conventional silicon solar cells, which have a power conversion rate of 26.7%.
This breakthrough is hoped to pave the way for flexible, lightweight, low-cost and ultrathin photovoltaic cells, best for powering vehicles, boats, blinds, among other things.
Conventional solar cells used in solar power plants today are based on a single-junction architecture, which caps the practical power conversion efficiency at about 27% in industrial production. To push the power conversion efficiency to over 30%, stacks of two or more absorber layers (multi-junction cells) are needed. Tandem solar cells that are made up of two different kinds of photovoltaic materials is an active area of research.
The NUS study demonstrates the potential of perovskite-based tandem solar cells for future commercial applications of photovoltaic technology. Researchers hope to build on the performance of their tandem solar cells and scale up the technology.
Solar cell technology has grown in popularity in recent years as a source of sustainable energy. Their reliability, efficiency, durability and price have great impact on the commercial potential and large-scale implementation of solar energy projects worldwide.
Says Prof. Hou Yi, lead researcher at NUS Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: “Technologies for clean and renewable energy are extremely important for carbon reduction. Solar cells that directly convert solar energy into electricity are among the most promising clean energy technologies. The high power conversion efficiency of solar cells is critical for generating more electrical power using a limited area and this, in turn, reduces the total cost of generating solar energy.”
