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“Produced in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, the panel achieved a record 25% conversion efficiency, a significant increase on the more typical 24% efficiency of commercial modules,” according to the company.
The panel was made using equipment and expertise at Fraunhofer ISE’s ‘Module-TEC’ manufacturing facility and tested at Fraunhofer’s ‘CalLab PV Modules’ test facility using a multi-spectral solar simulator.
“In order to make precise and reproducible statements about the tandem module’s power, both the perovskite and the silicon cell layers were illuminated by different LED light sources under conditions that are as close as possible to those in which they produce electricity under natural sunlight,” said Oxford PV.
421W was delivered from 1.68m2 of panel.
Panel efficiency should not be confused with cell efficiency, as the measures needed to build a weatherproof long-life panel from cells reflect away or absorb some incident energy.
Tandem solar cells have two layers, each converting a different part of the light spectrum.
“Perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cells have a theoretical maximum efficiency of over 43%, compared to less than 30% for silicon solar cells,” said Oxford PV, adding that it has achieved 28.6% for commercial-sized perovskite-on-silicon cell, and has a road map beyond 30%.
A University of Oxford spin-out, Oxford PV has a research and development site in Oxford and a production line near Berlin (pictured).
“It is the first step in what will be a transformative 2024,” said CEO David Ward, “as we begin to deliver panels from our factory in Germany, and continue our global search for a high volume manufacturing site which will enable us to bring our technology into the mainstream.”
