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					</table><p>Researchers from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (<a href="https://www.kaust.edu.sa/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KAUST</a>), in a significant discovery, have claimed to surpass the efficiency milestone of 30% for tandem silicon-perovskite solar cells.</p>
<p>Tandem solar cells consist of a top cell that absorbs high-energy photons and a bottom cell that captures low-energy photons. These cells are stacked together, with the top and bottom cells interconnected, allowing for efficient energy conversion.</p>
<p>Monolithic integration of perovskite and silicon solar cells into a tandem device holds great promise for high-performance and cost-effective photovoltaics.</p>
<p>Metal halide perovskites have emerged as a promising semiconductor class for solar cells, as their bandgap can be tailored to cover the desirable range for top cells.</p>
<p>Integrating perovskites with silicon into tandems has become a thriving area of research, leading to various deposition techniques involving solution processes, vacuum deposition, or a combination of both.</p>
<p>Initial work focused on developing low-temperature deposition processes for the top cell to ensure compatibility with the highly efficient silicon bottom cell.</p>
<p>One of the main challenges in realizing the potential of perovskite-silicon tandems has been minimizing charge loss due to recombination in the perovskite top cell, particularly at its interface with the electron-collecting contact stack.</p>
<p>Researchers have addressed this issue through innovative molecular approaches. By blending a phosphonic acid-based additive or inserting a chemical component, piperazinium iodide, they achieved certified efficiencies above 30% in different types of perovskite-silicon tandems.</p>
<p><strong>Future Directions and Commercial Viability</strong></p>
<p>Moving forward, efforts are needed to improve further the performance, stability, and scalability of perovskite-silicon tandems.</p>
<p>Assessing the annual degradation rate under real-world conditions and achieving scalability comparable to mainstream silicon manufacturing is crucial for commercial viability.</p>
<p>The researchers said reaching performance, stability, and scaling goals within approximately five years will accelerate the maturation of this renewable energy technology and contribute to meeting the critical target of 75 TW global PV capacity.</p>
<p>Recently, scientists at the National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/iit-26-efficiency-perovskite-silicon-solar-cell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">achieved</a> a power conversion efficiency of more than 26% for a 4 terminal (4T)-silicon perovskite tandem solar cell.</p>
<p>Last month, Italy-based renewable energy company Enel Green Power, researchers at the National Solar Energy Institute, and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission claimed to have <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/researchers-show-tandem-perovskite-solar-cell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">achieved</a> a power conversion efficiency of 26.5% for a 2-terminal tandem perovskite solar cell.</p>


Researchers Claim Over 30% Efficiency with Tandem Silicon-Perovskite Solar Cells


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					</table><p><a href="https://www.oxfordpv.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oxford PV</a>,  a UK-based solar cell manufacturing company, has achieved a new world record conversion efficiency of 28.6% for a commercial-sized solar cell by depositing a thin film of the material perovskite onto a conventional silicon solar cell.</p>
<p>The achievement surpasses the average efficiency of mainstream silicon-only solar cells, which typically range from 22% to 24%.</p>
<p>The efficiency record has been independently certified by <a href="https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fraunhofer ISE</a> and showcases the potential of combining perovskite and silicon materials in tandem solar cells.</p>
<p>Chris Case, Chief Technology Officer at Oxford PV, said, &#8220;Our latest efficiency achievement of 28.6% is more than 1.5% above our record set last year and exceeds our own roadmap plan of 1% annual increases. These record-setting solar cells are made on the same production line as our 27% efficient commercial solar cells, which already meet strict performance and reliability targets.&#8221;</p>
<p>As a spin-out of the University of Oxford, Oxford PV has been developing perovskite-on-silicon technology at its research and development center in Oxford, UK.</p>
<p>The company&#8217;s manufacturing facility near Berlin, Germany, serves as a critical hub for scaling up production and continuous improvement of commercial-sized devices.</p>
<p>The solar cell was produced at Oxford PV&#8217;s integrated production line in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany. The company&#8217;s production facility, operational since 2017, houses the world&#8217;s first volume manufacturing line for perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cells.</p>
<p>With initial production underway, Oxford PV is scaling up operations to meet the demand from solar module manufacturing partners.</p>
<p>The breakthrough technology holds great promise for enhancing the affordability and effectiveness of solar energy. Integrating these solar cells into panels maximizes electricity generation per unit area, making them highly attractive for residential, commercial, and utility-scale installations.</p>
<p>The technology also offers the potential to reduce land usage and preserve biodiversity for large-scale solar farms.</p>
<p>By leveraging perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cell technology, the company has demonstrated the potential for significantly improving the efficiency and affordability of solar power.</p>
<p>Recently, scientists at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/efficiency-perovskite-silicon-tandem-solar-cells" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> to have developed a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell with a record energy conversion efficiency of 33.2%. Certified by the European Solar Test Installation (ESTI), the efficiency achieved at the KAUST Solar Center is listed on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Best Research-cell Efficiency Chart.</p>


Oxford PV Sets New Efficiency Record of 28.6% for Commercial-Sized Solar Cell

<p>Researchers at <a href="https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE</a> announced a new record efficiency of 25.9% for the III-V/Si tandem solar cell grown directly on silicon.</p>
<p>The research and development focus is now on tandem photovoltaics, in which high-performance solar cell materials are brought together in various combinations. This is to use the solar spectrum even more efficiently when converting light into electrical energy.</p>
<p>According to the researchers, the III-V/Si tandem solar cell was assembled on a low-cost silicon substrate for the first time, which can be used as an economical solution for tandem PV. They added that the new technology could also be used for electrolysis, a process to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity to produce hydrogen.</p>
<p>In multi-junction solar cells, two or three different sub-cells piled up on top of each other absorb different portions of the solar spectrum and convert it into electricity. They added that the highest efficiency was achieved by replacing a single thin-layer in a multi-junction cell. Silicon can be used as an absorber as it is more suited for an infrared part of the solar spectrum.</p>
<p>“Not only are we working to make silicon solar cell production more sustainable and cost-effective, but we are also breaking new ground. We are aiming to reach even higher efficiencies using the tried and test silicon in combination with other semiconductors materials and have achieved this in the field of tandem photovoltaics,” said Professor Dr. Stefan Glunz, Division Director of the Photovoltaics Research at Fraunhofer ISE.</p>
<p>According to the press release, researchers at Fraunhofer Institute have been working to develop this technology with the Ilmenau University of Technology, the Philipps University of Marburg, and the company Aixtron since 2007. German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) provided funding for these developments as part of the III-V-Si project and the MehrSi project.</p>
<p>In April 2020, Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin said they had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/new-perovskite-cigs-tandem-cell-efficiency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">developed</a> tandem cells that could combine two different semiconductors and convert different parts of the light spectrum into electrical energy. These perovskite CIGS tandem cells were said to be able to achieve a record efficiency of 24.16%.</p>
<p>Mercom earlier <a href="https://mercomindia.com/researchers-claim-27-7-percent-efficiency-mechanically-stacked-pv-silicon-tandem-cell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that researchers at the Australian National University claimed to set a new conversion efficiency record of 27.7% in mechanically-stacked perovskite-silicon tandem cells.</p>
<p>Image Credit: Fraunhofer ISE /Photo: Markus Feifel</p>


Fraunhofer Institute Reports New Record Efficiency of 25.9% for Tandem Solar Cells

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