...Silicon solar cells have been around since the early days of the space program and now dominate the industry, ...[but] tremendous amounts of energy are needed to produce the silicon in solar cells...
...12.1 percent efficiency rating on a cell measuring 16 square centimeters. That’s the highest efficiency on a large-size perovskite solar cell to date, ....
...In September, ... scientists achieved an efficiency rating of 21.6 percent by adding rubidium to improve stability.
...Researchers ... in October their technology obtained a 20.3 percent efficiency, according to the Science website. The gain was achieved by stacking two perovskite cells to capture low-energy and high-energy light waves....
...“We expect to have a product that meets industry requirements by the end of 2017,” Frank Averdung, chief executive officer at Oxford PV said by email. “Adding some time for qualification, certification and production, our first product could be commercially available towards the end of 2018.”
Challenges remain. For one, researchers must still come up with a way to ensure the material remains stable outdoors for long periods of time. Methods for painting the material on large surfaces must also be improved, said Masanori Iida, an official at the technology and design sector at Panasonic. “It is difficult to continuously make the coating even,” Iida said by email.
Others are more cautious about the commercial viability of this new solar technology. “It certainly is going to be more than five years and it could be never,”
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