A collaboration led by Rice University and Los Alamos National Laboratory has found that constant illumination reduces strain in a perovskite crystal lattice, and allows it to uniformly expand in all directions.

The expansion was found to improve the conversion efficiency, ‘curing’ defects in the crystal structure and allowing more electrons to move through the material. The researchers modeled over 30 iodide-based thin films with perovskite-like structures, and found that when exposed to light, the bonds between atoms relaxed and barriers between the perovskite layer and the electrode largely vanished.

Researchers from Sweden's Linköping University and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore have developed high-quality films based on double perovskites, which demonstrate promising photovoltaic properties. Developing environmentally friendly perovskites has become important in solving the toxicity issue of lead‐based perovskite solar cells.

The lead-free double perovskite solar cells (yellow, in the front) compared with the lead-based device (dark, in the background)

"Our colleagues at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have shown that the charge carriers demonstrate long diffusion lengths in the material, which is necessary if the material is to be appropriate for the application of in solar cells," says the Linköping team.

Oxford PV recently announced that its perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cells, currently being used to conduct a life-cycle environmental impact study, have shown positive first results.

The study, commissioned by CHEOPS – a perovskite research project co-funded by the European research and innovation program Horizon 2020, is being conducted by SmartGreenScans, a CHEOPS member, specializing in Life-Cycle Assessments (LCA) of photovoltaic technologies, to assess the life-cycle environmental impact of the perovskite-on-silicon tandem cells being commercialized by Oxford PV.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved a priority program to carry out research into perovskite solar cells – co-ordinated by the Konstanz physicist Professor Lukas Schmidt-Mende, which will receive €2.3 million a year in funding. The DFG has established the program – ‘Perovskite semiconductors: from fundamental properties to devices’ – to carry out the basic research into perovskite semiconductors.

Universities from across Germany, the UK, and Switzerland will collaborate on the project, meaning that it will be one of the largest joint research projects in Europe in the area of perovskite semiconductor research.

Solliance announced a new record stabilized average cell performance of 14.5% for its large thin-film perovskite photovoltaic modules on glass. The efficiency was measured on an aperture area of 144 cm2.

The perovskite module was realized on a commercial 6x6 inch2 glass substrate, a size comparable to standard commercial silicon solar cells. The substrate is provided with a transparent conductor, by applying three consecutive slot die coating processes and using a newly developed annealing process. The metal top electrode was evaporated. Twenty-four cells were series-connected through optimized laser-based scribes. Up to 95.3% of the modules area is covered with active material, resulting in a stabilized module efficiency of 13.8%.

Greatcell Solar has been awarded €500,000 in a European Union Horizon 2020 project known as H2020-SGA-FET-GRAPHENE. The grant to Greatcell's application has occurred through its 100% Italian subsidiary, Greatcell Solar Italy, located in Rome.

The H2020 project is for the innovative development and the installation of a Perovskite Solar Cell (PSC) 10m² array in the Greek island of Crete and aligns closely with Greatcell's existing technology development plan. Much of the work involved will investigate advanced technology for higher efficiencies, longer life and improved encapsulation of PSC enabled glass substrates, investigating in particular the usage of Graphene in PSC solar cells.