Oxford PV, a leading perovskite solar energy company with operations in England and Germany, achieved a power conversion efficiency of 28.6% in a 258.15 cm² cell bipolar perovskite-silicon tandem cell: a world record for a full-sized device ‘silicon wafer. The record has been certified by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE).
The conversion of high efficiency to larger device sizes fabricated with industrially compatible technologies is a key step in the commercialization of this technology. “Our latest efficiency achievement of 28.6% is more than 1.5% higher than the record we set last year and exceeds our own roadmap of 1% annual growth,” said Chris Case, CTO of Oxford PV.
Oxford PV, founded in 2010 as a spinoff of Oxford University, manufactured the cell on its integrated production line in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany, on the same line that makes its 27 percent efficiency devices, the company said in a statement.
According to Oxford PV CEO David Ward, the milestone showcases the company’s technology and capabilities, but commercialization efforts are ongoing. “While we continue to innovate in our small research-sized solar cells in our perovskite-on-silicon technology, we have been primarily focused on improving our commercial-sized cells to market, ramping up production and working with our solar module partners to prepare them for installation as solar panels,” says Ward. “Our team has made excellent progress throughout 2023 and innovative solar cells are close to the hands of our module manufacturing customers.”
Author: Valerie Thompson
