As the next generation technology with commercial application prospects, perovskite solar cells have attracted attention in the solar cost reduction revolution due to their high efficiency, low cost, low energy consumption, and rich application scenarios.
In January 2023, six departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of the Energy Electronics Industry. It is proposed to accelerate the innovation and breakthrough of intelligent solar, develop high purity silicon materials and large size silicon wafer technology, support the production of high-efficiency and low-cost crystalline silicon cells, promote the research and development and application of advanced technologies such as N-type high-efficiency cells, flexible thin film cells, perovskite and laminated cells, and improve the capacity for large-scale mass production.
As the future of the third generation solar cells, perovskite has prominent advantages and is undoubtedly a more ideal material.
It is a crystal material with the molecular formula ABX3, and has excellent optical and electrical properties. Perovskite has a much higher light absorption performance than crystalline silicon, low loss during energy conversion, and good light absorption and charge transfer rate.
Compared to the mainstream solar cell technology in the current market, perovskite is undoubtedly in the first tier of efficiency, gradually shouldering the burden of reducing costs and increasing efficiency in the future solar industry. The theoretical limit conversion efficiency of a single cell of 33% is much higher than that of a crystalline silicon cell, and its efficiency is even higher after tandem process.
Recently, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the perovskite indoor solar cell developed by Mellow Energy reached 44.72% under the irradiation of 1000luxU30 light source, current highest in the world.
In addition, due to the streamlined industrial chain, lower energy consumption, and lower capital expenditure of perovskite cells, the mass production costs are expected to show with significant advantages.
Perovskite cells are naturally “integrated”. By purchasing chemical raw materials, the delivery of final module products can be completed in the same factory, greatly shortening the product production and delivery cycle, while reducing overall costs.
The cost of raw materials for perovskite modules usually only accounts for 5-8%, with stable price, far lower than that of silicon materials in crystalline silicon modules with a cost of more than one-third and price fluctuations. According to the GCL Perovskite’s announcement, with the scale of perovskite modules, the module efficiency can reach 17% when the production capacity reaches 1 GW, and the cell specification can reach 2.4m².
At present, the rapid efficiency decay of perovskite cells is the main reason restricting their commercialization.
In recent years, this obstacle has also been gradually eliminated by improving the stability of the material itself and seeking more suitable transport layer materials. At present, the industry has also made breakthrough progress in improving the stability of perovskite. In 2021, Microquanta announced that its modules had passed the stability enhancement test based on the IEC61215 standard, with performance degradation less than 5% of the initial efficiency value.
There are also targeted absolute solutions to the problem of a significant decrease in efficiency after the size of perovskite cells is increased. The key to solving the large size problem lies in the improvement of the coating process. In the past, the laboratory used the spin coating method to prepare perovskite cells, but in large-scale production, more slit coating methods will be used.
As a new solar circuit, the huge development potential of perovskite and the rapid progress of the industry in recent years have led to capital pouring into it.
In 2022, a number of perovskite-related enterprises have completed financing. According to public information statistics, dozens of leading institutions, including Tencent, Three Gorges Capital, Hillhouse Capital, Country Garden, Sequoia Capital China etc, continued to accelerate their investment in perovskite enterprises, with investment amounts exceeding hundreds of millions.
Galaxy Securities previously predicted that with the increasingly mature development of perovskite cell technology, during the “14th Five Year Plan” period, China’s perovskite cell under construction and planned production capacity is expected to reach 50 GW to 75 GW.
