Evaluating tandem cells, from the bottom up

Scientists in Germany evaluated multiple silicon cell concepts based on both cost and efficiency in serving as the bottom layer in a perovskite-silicon tandem cell. The study, based on both simulation and experimental work, outlines advantages to various approaches with the silicon cell and concludes that in almost every case, perovskite-silicon tandem cells have the potential to bring solar costs down below what could be achieved with silicon alone.

December 4, 2020 Mark Hutchins

New work from Fraunhofer ISE shows that perovskite-silicon tandem cells, like this one from Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, have the potential to produce ever cheaper solar power, provided they can maintain performance for the long-term.

Image: Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin

From pv magazine International

The past year has seen plenty of research focused on large-scale processes to bring the impressive achievements made with perovskite thin films into large-scale production. And while there’s still plenty of disagreement over how long we’ll have to wait before seeing the technology take significant market share, perovskites are widely expected to have a major role to play in the future of PV.

And the first commercial iteration of the technology will almost certainly be in the form of a tandem cell, with a more conventional silicon technology sitting underneath. While much of the research community continues to focus on ironing out issues with the perovskite material, Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) decided to look into the silicon cell underneath, evaluating the performance of various cell types for their compatibility with a perovskite top cell, aiming to identify pathways to higher energy yields from solar, at lower costs for manufacturing and deployment.

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