South Korean manufacturer Qcells has developed a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell with a 28.6% efficiency, noting that it was “fabricated by exclusively using processes that are feasible for mass production.”
Qcells has announced a significant breakthrough in solar technology with its perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell achieving 28.6% efficiency, signaling that the technology is ready for mass production.
The cell is a full-area M10 size, approximately 189 mm² (just over a third of a square foot). This size aligns with the standard solar cell size used in most QCells panels and is suitable for integration into industrial modules.
Qcells said that the design, which stacks a perovskite top cell over a silicon bottom cell, enhances performance by more efficiently capturing high-energy light with the top perovskite cell while the bottom silicon cell captures transmitted low-energy light.
Robert Bauer, the head of research and development at Qcells, said in a recent press release:
Qcells is excited to announce this new world-record in tandem cell efficiency based on our in-house developed perovskite technology as a top cell, and cost-efficient Q.ANTUM silicon technology as a bottom cell. The champion cell is a typical cell from our R&D pilot line in Germany and has been fabricated by exclusively using processes that are feasible for mass production.
The German pilot line, launched in 2022 and funded by various European government research grants, complements a parallel perovskite silicon tandem pilot line in South Korea. QCells, a subsidiary of the South Korean-based global manufacturing conglomerate Hanwha, also operates a perovskite silicon tandem pilot line in South Korea. This research facility has also received financial support from the South Korean government.
In collaboration with the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), Qcells previously created a solar cell with a slightly higher efficiency of 28.7%. HZB has been a key partner in numerous high-efficiency perovskite silicon projects, including a partnership with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia, which resulted in a 31.2% efficient blade-coated perovskite-silicon tandem cell. Furthermore, HZB developed their own 32.5% efficient solar cell through innovative perovskite compound improvements and interface modifications led by their PV Competence Center and the HySPRINT Innovation Lab.
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