Stability Breakthrough in Perovskite Solar Modules Could Further Cut Carbon-Free Electricity Cost
What you’ll learn:
- Perovskite-based solar cells offer higher efficiency and lower production costs, but, until now, they degrade quickly in outdoor environments.
- New developments that extend their life may enable commercialization of the technology, which could further reduce the cost of photovoltaic power.
A collaboration between imec, an independent nanoelectronics R&D hub and partner in EnergyVille, with the University of Cyprus has demonstrated long-term outdoor stability of perovskite solar modules.* This new development could eliminate the longevity problems that have prevented low-cost solar cells based on perovskite-structured compounds from being commercialized.
Mini-modules measuring 4 cm2, developed at imec/EnergyVille, have been comprehensively evaluated over two years in real-world conditions in Cyprus. They have shown remarkable power efficiency retention of 78% after one year, which current perovskite solar modules only retain for weeks. These findings are among the first real-world results to address the stability issues that currently hinder perovskite solar cells from commercialization.
Perovskite’s Winding Path to PV Cell Implementation
Over the last decade, metal-halide perovskites have emerged as a promising material for next-generation photovoltaic (PV) cells thanks to their unique optical and electronic properties.
Since the compounds can be selectively “tuned” to generate power from a selected frequency of the sun’s light, it’s possible to use simple thin-film deposition techniques to fabricate multilayer structures. Such structures utilize a broader range of the Sun’s spectrum than that of conventional cells. Advances in materials and engineering with these cells have shown rapid improvement in their power conversion efficiency (PCE).
However, stability challenges remain the primary obstacle to widespread adoption, as they degrade due to moisture, light, and heat. Standard indoor testing in a controlled environment, which continuously mimics sun irradiation, only serves as a proxy for real-world performance.
Environmental conditions, such as varying light, temperature, and weather, impact cell performance. Despite this, only a handful of research groups have investigated outdoor performance of perovskite PV, focusing primarily on small cells rather than modules.
Module Testing Results
Over the last two years, imec conducted a comprehensive study of the outdoor performance of their perovskite PV modules. Mini-modules, measuring 4 cm2 and developed at imo-imomec Hasselt University and imec/EnergyVille in Belgium, were tested in collaboration with the University of Cyprus. The most durable modules retained 78% of their initial PCE after a year outdoors in Cyprus. This showcases their promising stability compared to current perovskite solar modules, which retain such outdoor efficiency for only weeks to months.
Thanks to the outdoor setup, a consistent pattern of performance degradation during the day and overnight recovery was also discovered. In addition, the wealth of data allowed exploration with a machine-learning model, which showed a strong correlation with the actual power output, highlighting its potential for future performance predictions.
“This research represents a major advancement in understanding the degradation of perovskite solar modules in real-world conditions,” said Tom Aernouts, R&D Manager at imec/UHasselt/EnergyVille. “With further improvements of the efficiency of our mini-modules, which are designed with upscaling in mind, these findings can accelerate the path towards commercialization of this promising technology.”
To gain deeper insights into degradation behavior across different climate zones, the modules will also be evaluated in the rainy climate of Brussels, the arid desert of New Mexico, and the moderate climates of Madrid and Freiburg.
The findings are described in full in the article “Diurnal Changes and Machine Learning Analysis of Perovskite Modules Based on Two Years of Outdoor Monitoring,” which can be found in ACS Energy Letters.
*This research was partly funded by the European Union through the TESTARE project (Grant ID: 101079488).
