| Work Detail |
A team of researchers from China and the United States has summarized the marketing status of several manufacturers, including Saule Technologies, Solaronix, Panasonic, Toshiba, Utmolight, Wonder Solar, Kunshan GCL and Microquanta.
A team of researchers from Nanjing University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has published a review of progress in the commercialization of single-junction perovskite photovoltaic modules. They evaluated the feasibility of commercialization based on the three pillars of efficiency, stability and cost. The carbon footprint and recycling potential were also evaluated.
The research group considers that the problem of stability is the most pressing. “Closely following is the need to improve the processing of large-area films,” lead author Pengchen Zhu told pv magazine .
The team began by establishing device area size criteria for terms like “cell” or “module.” Size is important when talking about marketing. Research or laboratory cells are the smallest, called “small cells.” They measure less than 1 cm2. Next in size are the “cells” that measure from 1 cm2 to 10 cm2. A “large module” is considered to measure more than 14,000 cm2. In between there are minimodules, submodules, small modules and standard modules.
Next, academics identified potential applications and critical commercialization challenges. Additionally, they reviewed work being done to overcome challenges, including strategies to fabricate high-quality films on a large surface area and further improve energy conversion efficiency and stability.
The group also took an in-depth look at encapsulation methods and materials, scalable deposition methods, and strategies to improve film quality and cost developments. “Some of the most surprising findings of the review are in the cost analysis and life cycle assessments,” Zhu said. The team evaluated cost reduction scenarios, including comparisons and projections on the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for tandem perovskite-silicon modules.
“We discuss environmental impact, including toxicity issues, and resource demand in this section, proposing some recycling strategies to reduce this negative impact,” Zhu said, referring to energy payback calculations, carbon footprints and comparisons. with conventional photovoltaic modules.
The study also includes summaries of the commercialization status of several manufacturers, such as Europes Saule Technologies and Solaronix, Japans Panasonic and Toshiba, and Chinese perovskite manufacturing companies Utmolight, Wonder Solar, Kunshan GCL and Microquanta.
Asked how the photovoltaic industry could accelerate the commercialization of perovskite technology, Zhu suggested that closer cooperation between academia and industry in key areas could make a difference. For example, providing the latest modified polyolefin and butyl rubber products for encapsulation research, while cell manufacturers could provide customized background silicon cells.
Manufacturers could share non-confidential processing data with perovskite researchers, which would help investigate the manufacturing of large modules and allow early input from equipment and materials suppliers.
Looking ahead, Zhu hopes that the perovskite research community will continue to improve the stability of devices, focusing on real-life conditions to understand and solve problems related to aspects such as thermal, light and humidity exposure.
Their analysis is presented in the article “ Toward the Commercialization of Perovskite Solar Modules ” published in Advanced Materials. The initiative can be seen as complementary to the recently published review of perovskite-silicon tandem-oriented commercialization by a team at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. |
