On October 20, the well-known scientific journal "Science" reported that a new type of solar cell researched in China has made a major breakthrough, with higher conversion efficiency and longer life, but the cost is only a quarter of the current silicon-based solar cell, which means that this new type of solar cell will be able to flourish and be invincible, reshaping the pattern of renewable energy, hailed as a milestone achievement.
The study came from a collaborative team from City University of Hong Kong and Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Perovskites are a low-cost, readily available inorganic material that, like traditional silicon-based solar panels, can convert solar energy into electricity, but with greater efficiency, and is considered the most promising material to surpass silicon-based solar energy.
However, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are very unstable, and oxygen, moisture, and high temperatures can cause them to degrade rapidly. In previous studies, scientists used a novel pore-selective contact layer, called a self-assembled monolayer (SAM), to improve the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells.
SAM is a spontaneously formed thin film from a special molecule that can efficiently extract the positively charged carriers generated in PSCs and prevent the molecules from aggregating on irregular surfaces. However, SAM is a single-molecule structure with a thickness of only 1-2 nm, which can easily decompose at high temperatures.
A team of Chinese scientists redesigned the SAM using a unique three-dimensional structure and fixed it to a stable nickel oxide film, enhancing its thermal and chemical stability, significantly improving battery life and energy conversion capabilities. The test results showed that the perovskite cell they designed achieved a conversion efficiency of 25.6%, almost matching the record of 25.7% set by the National Institute of Science and Technology in Ulsan, South Korea, in October 2021.
But surprisingly, after 1,200 hours of operation at 65°C, the battery still maintained an initial efficiency of more than 90%, far exceeding the previous record of 450 hours.
And most surprisingly, the researchers say this technology will reduce the levelized cost of electricity for solar cells to a quarter of the current $24 per megawatt-hour for silicon-based solar cells, or $5.45!
Will this constitute a comprehensive crushing and trampling of the current mainstream solar cells? The current answer is probably no, as the stability and longevity of such solar cells are still challenging, with current silicon-based solar panels having a lifespan of 20 to 25 years, and perovskite solar cells still being tested and not yet known.
However, global research on perovskite solar panels has intensified, and it is believed that a breakthrough in service life may be in the near future. For example, a team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne and Northwestern University in the United States published a paper in Nature on October 24 that their perovskite cells have achieved a conversion efficiency of 25.3% and 1,000 hours of operation at 65°C and 50% relative humidity, still maintaining 95% peak performance.
The University of Pennsylvania's study published in Nature on October 28 showed that their perovskite solar panels achieved a conversion efficiency of 21.59% and an initial efficiency of more than 90% for 200 hours.
However, the Chinese research team may have an advantage, because China is the absolute leader in the photovoltaic industry, with a global market share of more than 80% from raw materials to production equipment, which means that once the research results are feasible, they may quickly translate into productivity and gain a huge cost advantage.
According to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, the cost of solar energy has fallen by more than 90% in the past 10 years and has become the cheapest energy source in the world. If it is reduced to only a quarter, it means that perovskite solar energy can not only crush the current silicon-based solar energy, but also form a comprehensive crush on other energy sources, whether fossil energy or other clean energy, which may reshape the global clean energy and even the entire energy pattern, promote the world to achieve carbon standards and peak carbon faster, and save our only earth.
Perovskite solar energy is more competitive due to its higher efficiency and lower cost, and a number of Chinese companies have begun to expand the production capacity of perovskite solar cells, which may allow China to show stronger competitiveness in photovoltaic products and further expand its market share.
Thesis: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ade9637