Solliance realises first up-scaled Perovskite based PV modules

This result could be realised due to the intensive collaboration within Solliance. Based on previous optimization on 16cm² modules, the Solliance team was able to quickly transfer this to a 6x6"² sized glass substrate using the developed blade coating process and the optimised mechanical patterning technology. In this case a 156cm² aperture area module with 10% efficiency was realised comprising of twenty-four interconnected cells. This was then used as starting point for the realisation of above mentioned 168cm² PV module.

These results demonstrate the up-scalability of this new thin film PV technology. Apart from the electrodes currently used, all layers can be processed in ambient environment and at temperatures below 120⁰C. This shows the low production cost potential of this new emerging thin film PV technology. Further, the deposition and interconnection technologies used for obtaining these results are industrially available for Sheet-to-Sheet as well as for Roll-to-Roll manufacturing. The latter allows for creating high volume production in the future.

The current world record efficiency of a small lab scale perovskite based PV cell is 22.1%. “The challenge is to upscale perovskite cells to larger size industrially process-able modules with high efficiency and long lifetimes at low cost. The current result, presented on an aperture area comparable to standard commercial silicon solar cells, shows that Solliance, with its in depth know how on processing of organic PV and CIGS and its vast Sheet-to-Sheet and Roll-to-Roll pilot production infrastructure, is excellently placed to realise this upscaling. These 10% up-scaled perovskite based PV modules are first and important steps in this development. We are confident to boost quickly the up-scaled Perovskite based PV module efficiency further above 15% by using very low cost materials and processes. But besides demonstrating the up-scalability of these highly efficient Perovskite based PV devices, we are also currently working hard to stabilize further the performance of these devices under real life operational conditions”, explains Ronn Andriessen, Program Manager of the Perovskite based PV program at Solliance.

Solliance is conducting advanced research on the development of Perovskite based PV modules and its applications with its industrial partners Nano-C, Solartek, DyeSol and Panasonic. With this result the Solliance R&D partners and their industrial partners demonstrate the strength of their research framework for the development of industrial Perovskite based PV modules.