A team of Chinese researchers has developed a solar cell that converts 34.58% of sunlight into electricity, which sets a new record for silicon-perovskite tandem technology.
Silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells combine traditional silicon, the material used in most commercial solar panels, with a layer of perovskite, a crystal-like compound known for absorbing sunlight efficiently and at wavelengths silicon struggles to capture.
According to Tech Xplore, the achievement pushes perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cell technology closer to its theoretical limit of about 43% efficiency, according to Oxford PV.
For context, in 2024, commercial perovskite-on-silicon solar panels improved to 25% efficiency from about 15% efficiency in 2015, per ScienceDaily.
Standard silicon panels cannot capture all wavelengths of light; however, perovskite, a low-cost material known for absorbing blue and green light, can fill some of silicon’s band gaps.
In the study, published in the journal Nature, researchers combined a silicon solar cell with a thin, self-assembling layer of perovskite to create a tandem design that, in turn, made the panels remarkably efficient.
According to the University of Rochester, perovskite materials are cheaper to produce than silicon, which could help lower the overall cost of solar panels.
If scaled up, the technology could also reduce the cost of solar power by capturing more light and producing more electricity from the same surface area. That advancement could make rooftop solar more affordable, cut harmful air pollution, thereby improving public health.
It is important to note that the cells were not tested for performance under heat, humidity, or other outdoor stresses, so these panels will require more development and research time before they are used at scale.
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The perovskite-on-silicon solar panels will likely take time to become commercially viable, so it is always a good idea to start your clean energy journey now with proven options like rooftop solar.
“Our research provides critical technical solutions for developing novel self-assembled monolayer materials and further advancing silicon–perovskite tandem efficiency,” the team wrote.
This breakthrough in solar could help advance clean energy and accelerate the shift to a low-carbon future for all.
