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.
Despite these achievements, LONGi Solar currently leads the industry with perovskite-silicon solar cells that achieve more than 34% efficiency. LONGI’s CEO, Li Zhenguo, said that perovskite-silicon cells with multiple layers could theoretically reach up to 43% efficiency, aligning with research suggesting a potential of nearly 45% efficiency.
However, perovskite materials’ longevity remains a concern, as they tend to degrade under sunlight exposure, which is a significant challenge for solar panels. Companies have developed techniques to combat degradation, such as the use of additives (such as dimethylammonium formate) that enable coating in ambient air and significantly extend cell life by preventing rapid oxidation.
This year, GCL discussed their perovskite silicon module with pv magazine, emphasizing that their module had passed all standard tests required for standard silicon solar modules and demonstrated comparable degradation patterns. However, the company cautioned that perovskites are new and distinct from traditional silicon, and said it is essential to understand their unique failure modes.
In a notable development in September, Oxford PV announced the shipment of standard commercial-sized 72-cell perovskite-silicon solar modules to a U.S. customer, boasting an efficiency of 24.5%.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.