Juhannus and researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) report that their new tandem PV cell is compatible with the company’s Duo production facility, which makes 56 mm x 156 mm CIGS cells on a flexible stainless steel substrate.
“The cell is based on a perovskite top cell that has been optimized for integration with Midsummer’s CIGS cells utilized in their commercial BIPV product line,” Midsummer said without disclosing other technical details. “Research continues with the goal of a two-terminal perovskite CIGS cell, which makes this particular solar cell very competitive and suitable for mass production.”
The manufacturer said the tandem cell is suitable for its Duo production equipment, which manufactures 56mm x 156mm CIGS cells with flexible stainless steel substrate.
UCLA set the first efficiency record for such tandem cells in 2018, at 22.4%. This surpassed the 17.8% efficiency achieved in 2016 in collaboration with European research institutes that developed a perovskite/CIGS mini-module with a size of 3.76 cm².
US researchers designed the bottom cell to include a transparent indium zinc oxide (IZO) conductive oxide film, a tin(IV) oxide (SnO2) buffer layer, perovskite layer and a floor methyl substcarbazole (Me-4PACz) as a hole-transfer layer. In the top cell, they used an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate, a cadmium sulfide (Cds) layer, and a CIGS absorbent.
Yang Yang, a materials science professor at UCLA, said at the time that similar devices could achieve efficiencies of more than 30 percent.
“We are fortunate to work with Professor Yang’s group at UCLA, who have done demonstrated key advances in perovskites,” said Leon Chiu, president of Pioneer Materials, which is the key supplier of compound injection targets used in the Midsummer novel CIGS treatment of stainless steel. “Integration into midsummer production proven CIGS treatment with Yang’s Lab’s custom perovskite shows a clear path to extn The reach of BIPV by improving efficiency and reducing costs.”
Midsummer currently has a 50 MW production plant in Bari, southern Italy, and another plant in Sweden. In 2020, it released a 500W solar panel for large rooftop systems.
