The Perovskite-Info newsletter (July 27, 2021)

University of Texas at Dallas researchers, led by Dr. Julia Hsu, have shown that a technique called photonic curing can be used to manufacture perovskite solar cells faster than other current methods.

Hsu’s research aims to solve a problem that has impeded large-scale manufacturing of flexible electronics and solar panels: the need to reduce the amount of time for the slowest part of production, called annealing. In this stage, the thin film must be heated to high temperatures, a step that can sometimes take hours and make production costly.

Oxford PV has announced that it has completed the build-out of its manufacturing site in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany.

The site houses the world’s first volume manufacturing line for Oxford PV’s innovative perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cells with an annual target manufacturing capacity of 100 MW. Oxford PV expects the line to start full production in 2022.

Earlier this month, Oxford PV announced the completion of the build-out of its manufacturing site in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany. Oxford PV concluded that announcement by saying that "With the achievement of this factory milestone, Oxford PV has terminated its exclusive relationship with Meyer Burger".

Meyer Burger Technology was informed of the termination of partnership (in place since 2019) through the press release (as well as a letter from Oxford Photovoltaics). In view of the unexpected announcement of termination by Oxford PV, Meyer Burger is reportedly considering legal options to enforce its rights.

A team of researchers, led by the University of Sydney, have used a new approach that could be the key to producing low cost and environmentally friendly perovskite solar cells, while achieving a new efficiency milestone for these cells.

The researchers said they had made crucial improvements to the process of ‘gas quenching’ to fabricate perovskite thin films. The research team successfully demonstrated a steady-state conversion efficiency of 23.6%, which they claim is the highest efficiency achieved for perovskite solar cells produced using the ‘gas quenching’ technique.