For the first time, an efficiency of 30% for perovskite-on-silicon-tandem solar cells has been exceeded thanks to a joint effort led by scientists at EPFL’s Photovoltaics and Thin Film Electronics Laboratory in partnership with the renowned innovation centre, CSEM (Neuchâtel, Switzerland). Independently certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the United States, these results are a boost to high-efficiency photovoltaics (PV) and pave the way toward even more competitive solar electricity generation.
SALD BV (Eindhoven, The Netherlands), specialist for the surface technology "Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition" (SALD), expects to double its turnover again in 2022. The technology company had already doubled its turnover in 2021. CEO Frank Verhage explains: "Our multi-patented process for applying coatings as thin as a single atom on an industrial scale has the potential to revolutionise entire industries. This transition of technology from the lab to manufacturing is giving us brisk demand from industry." While the company does not publicly disclose exact financial figures, it says it is "open to investors" for the expansion "from lab to fab".
The future certainly looks sunny for solar cells equipped with two electricity-generating semiconductors. With good reason – their potential efficiency is far higher than that of conventional single solar cells. They can also be lighter and more flexible, depending on their component materials. The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) now aims to fast-track this promising tandem solar technology’s time to market. To this end, its researchers have put two new high-performance coating plants into operation. These systems produce tandem solar cells consisting of a perovskite solar cell that can be combined with other types of solar cells. The various layers are deposited under ultra-clean conditions. Companies in the solar sector can take advantage of these capabilities to optimise their developments in the area of tandem solar cells.
