One-tenth the diameter of a human hair. That’s the thickness of the perovskite films researchers from the UK have been testing. They believe these films will eventually cover all kinds of buildings and objects, eliminating the need for conventional solar panels.
In short. A team of physicists at Oxford University has developed an ultra-thin film capable of converting sunlight into an impressive amount of electricity.
The perovskite-based material is so thin and flexible that it can coat any building or everyday objects, such as backpacks, cars, and smartphones.
In detail. At just over a micron thick, the new perovskite film developed by Shuaifeng Hu and colleagues at Oxford’s Department of Physics is 150 times thinner than a silicon wafer.
To achieve this microscopic thickness, the experts invented a new technique that stacks multiple layers of light-absorbing material on a single photovoltaic cell. In this way, each cell captures a wider range of the light spectrum.
As efficient as silicon panels. The revolutionary thing about this ultra-thin material is that it has a certified energy efficiency of 27%. This figure is below the record set by perovskite-silicon double-junction cells but on par with the best conventional silicon solar panels.
According to the Shuaifeng, Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology has certified the energy efficiency of these panels. However, he expects the material’s efficiency to increase further as manufacturing techniques improve:
“During just five years experimenting with our stacking or multi-junction approach we have raised power conversion efficiency from around 6% to over 27%, close to the limits of what single-layer photovoltaics can achieve today.”
“We believe that, over time, this approach could enable the photovoltaic devices to achieve far greater efficiencies, exceeding 45%.”
Solar panels everywhere. Researchers expect perovskite coatings to cover more surfaces than conventional solar panels. They say these ultra-thin films could even reduce the installation of home solar panels and large solar farms in favor of buildings and objects coated with the material.
The ultra-thin perovskite film could cover all kinds of surfaces, including the roof of a car or the back of a smartphone.
Commercialization has already begun. Oxford PV, a company founded at Oxford University in 2010, has started large-scale production of perovskite films with 24.5% efficiency. The production is taking place at its factory in Brandenburg, near Berlin, Germany. This is the first time a company has mass-produced this type of solar panels.
The technology’s current challenges are durability and price. Oxford PV doesn’t publicly disclose costs but says its approach will further reduce the price of solar power and make it the most sustainable form of renewable energy. Since 2010, the global average cost of solar electricity has fallen by 90%, making it a third cheaper than fossil fuels.
Image | Oxford University
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