Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, said they have successfully developed a prototype of a low-cost, high-quality perovskite solar cell that achieved a stable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.05%.

The newly developed perovskite solar cell exhibits long-term operational stability paving the way for the mass commercialization of these solar cells. The cell leads to the optimum phase distribution, enlarged grain size, and comes with enhanced crystallinity.

The efficiency achieved by Soumitra Satapathi from IIT Roorkee’s Department of Physics and team is said to be one of the highest reported PCEs for quasi-two-dimensional (2D) perovskite.

The quasi-2D layers have unique optoelectronic properties with structural diversity that help control the perovskite growth kinetics and play an efficient role as passivating agents for defect annihilation.

Satapathi said, “The perovskite solar cell developed by us are low-cost and can be used as an alternative to silicon solar cells. These are also the prototype solar cells exclusively developed at IIT Roorkee. Perovskite solar cells have demonstrated competitive power conversion efficiencies with the potential for higher performance, but their stability is limited compared to leading alternatives. Our main aim is to optimize the efficiency and to reduce the cost of manufacturing for Perovskite solar cells as much as possible.”

Perovskite solar cells found their significance in photovoltaic technology a decade ago as the potent substitute for silicon solar cells, given their higher energy conversion efficiency and stability. The process of manufacturing perovskite cells is also comparatively simpler and cheaper compared to silicon.

Director IIT Roorkee Professor K. K. Pant said, “The perovskite solar cell developed at IIT Roorkee is an important step towards developing efficient and stable solar cells. This technological development would boost self-reliance in India in the field of renewable energy. We encourage the development of such technologies, which have the potential of not only commercialization but also help in achieving national priorities.”

Institutions and experts worldwide have been performing experiments to achieve stable efficiency in perovskites.

Mercom had previously reported on how scientists at Empa, Swiss Laboratories for Material Science & Technology developed a low-temperature technique using silver to produce a bifacial perovskite-CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide) tandem solar cell, wherein the front side of the cell achieved record efficiency of 19.8% and the rear side displayed 10.9% efficiency.

In June this year, scientists from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the U.S. developed a new tin-lead perovskite tandem cell merging diverse layers of two chemical compounds achieving a record power conversion efficiency of 25.5%.