UK-based Oxford Photovoltaics, founded in 2010 as a spin-off from the University of Oxford, has announced an equity investment of £8.7 million (around US $10.6 million), provided by a combination of new and existing shareholders as the first portion of a Series C funding round. Further investment is expected before the end of 2016.

The funding will be used to help extend Oxford PV's position in the use of its perovskite technology to significantly enhance the performance and economic returns achievable from existing solar PV technologies. A portion of the funding has already been earmarked to develop a demonstration line to showcase the technology to manufacturers, bringing the firm one step closer to commercialization.

Researchers at Stanford University and Oxford University have reportedly combined two perovskite materials to produce a stable solar cell with efficiency over 20% that can be printed on a plastic substrate. The teams have developed four and two-terminal perovskite-perovskite tandem solar cells with ideally matched bandgaps. Each cell is printed on glass, but the same technology could be used to print the cells on plastic.

They developed an infrared absorbing 1.2eV bandgap perovskite, FA0.75Cs0.25Sn0.5Pb0.5I3, that delivers 14.8% efficiency. By combining this material with a wider bandgap FA0.83Cs0.17Pb(I0.5Br0.5)3 material, a monolithic two terminal tandem cell provides efficiencies of 17.0% with over 1.65 V open-circuit voltage. The team has also mechanically stacked four terminal tandem cells and obtain 20.3% efficiency.

Australia-based Dyesol has announced the signing of a letter of intent (LOI) to collaborate with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in the development of perovskite solar cells (PSC).

The LOI creates a non-binding framework for collaboration and coordination between the two organizations. The collaboration aims to be a step towards the development of commercially viable PSC technology. CSIRO is currently the 4th largest shareholder in Dyesol. The two have worked together in the past, collaborating in 2010 on materials for dye sensitized solar cells. Since then, Dyesol has shifted to focus on PSC development.

Switzerland-based R&D tools provider Fluxim released a new simulation tool called Laoss. Laoss is aimed specifically for large area organic electronic devices - such as large OLED TV panels and perovskite solar cells.

Fluxim says that the Laoss software can be used to design optimal electrode lay-outs of any shape with and without current carrying grids. According to Fluxim, a carefully designed electrode layout avoids non-uniformities that arise due to the resistance of the electrode and charge injecting layers.