Reviewed by Lexie CornerAug 12 2024
Researchers at the Physics Department of Oxford University have developed a ground-breaking method to generate more solar power without relying on silicon-based solar panels. Their innovation involves using a novel material that can generate electricity on the surfaces of everyday items such as cell phones, cars, and backpacks.
Dr. Shuaifeng Hu, Post Doctoral Fellow at Oxford University Physics, examining the new thin-film perovskite material. Image Credit: Martin Small.
This novel light-absorbing material is thin and flexible enough to be applied to the surface of almost any building or everyday object. Using an innovative technique developed at Oxford, which layers multiple light-absorbing materials within a single solar cell, the researchers have captured a broader range of the light spectrum, enabling greater power generation from the same amount of sunlight.
This ultra-thin material, utilizing the multi-junction method, has now received independent certification for achieving over 27 % energy efficiency. This efficiency matches that of conventional silicon photovoltaics, which typically use single-layer, energy-generating materials.
Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) granted the certification ahead of the scientific study's publication later this year.
During just five years experimenting with our stacking or multi-junction approach, we have raised power conversion efficiency from around 6 % to over 27 %, close to the limits of what single-layer photovoltaics can achieve today. We believe that, over time, this approach could enable the photovoltaic devices to achieve far greater efficiencies, exceeding 45 %.
Dr. Shuaifeng Hu, Post Doctoral Fellow, Physics Department, University of Oxford
With an energy efficiency of over 27 %, this new material compares favorably with the approximately 22 % efficiency of current solar panels, which convert about 22 % of sunlight into energy. The versatility of this ultra-thin and flexible material is also crucial. It is nearly 150 times thinner than a silicon wafer at just over one micron thick. Unlike traditional photovoltaics, which are typically applied to silicon panels, this new material can be applied to almost any surface.
By using new materials which can be applied as a coating, we have shown we can replicate and out-perform silicon whilst also gaining flexibility. This is important because it promises more solar power without the need for so many silicon-based panels or specially-built solar farms.
Dr. Junke Wang, Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions Postdoc Fellow, Physics Department, University of Oxford
The researchers believe that this method could make solar energy the most sustainable renewable energy source while continuing to drive down costs. Since 2010, the global average price of solar electricity has decreased by about 90 %, making it nearly a third less expensive than electricity generated from fossil fuels.
As new materials like thin-film perovskite reduce the reliance on silicon panels and specialized solar farms, these innovations promise even greater cost savings in the future.
“We can envisage perovskite coatings being applied to broader types of surface to generate cheap solar power, such as the roof of cars and buildings and even the backs of mobile phones. If more solar energy can be generated in this way, we can foresee less need in the longer term to use silicon panels or build more and more solar farms,” Dr. Wang added.
Around 30 experts, including the researchers, are working on photovoltaics under the direction of Oxford University Physics Department Professor of Renewable Energy Henry Snaith. Their groundbreaking work in photovoltaics, which has benefited from a customized robotic laboratory, began about ten years ago. They specialize in the application of thin-film perovskite.
“The latest innovations in solar materials and techniques demonstrated in our labs could become a platform for a new industry, manufacturing materials to generate solar energy more sustainably and cheaply by using existing buildings, vehicles, and objects,” Henry Snaith adds.
Their work has already begun to find applications in the construction, utilities, and auto manufacturing sectors, demonstrating its strong commercial potential.
Oxford PV, a UK company founded in 2010 by Professor Henry Snaith, the Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, to commercialize perovskite photovoltaics, has recently begun large-scale manufacturing of these solar cells at its factory in Brandenburg-an-der-Havel, near Berlin, Germany. This is the world's first “perovskite-on-silicon” tandem solar cell production line.
The latest innovations in solar materials and techniques demonstrated in our labs could become a platform for a new industry, manufacturing materials to generate solar energy more sustainably and cheaply by using existing buildings, vehicles, and objects.
Henry Snaith, Professor, Physics Department, University of Oxford
“Supplying these materials will be a fast-growth new industry in the global green economy, and we have shown that the UK is innovating and leading the way scientifically. However, without new incentives and a better pathway to convert this innovation into manufacturing, the UK will miss the opportunity to lead this new global industry,” Professor Snaith added.