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Perovskite compounds absorb sunlight and generate electric current like silicon, but cost far less.
A team of Chinese researchers and factory engineers has shown that full-sized perovskite solar panels can survive real-world weather while beating the output of conventional silicon.
“To verify the performance of perovskite modules in a real-world operating environment, the research team installed a 1 MW perovskite photovoltaic system and a 3.5 MW crystalline silicon (TOPCon) photovoltaic system in the same large-scale ground-mounted power plant, and conducted comparative monitoring for three months,” said Nanjing University in a press release.
The perovskite array generated 3.42 percent more daily electricity per unit of installed capacity in March, 3.79 percent more in April, and 5.81 percent more in May, widening its lead as spring temperatures rose.
The manufacturing method behind the test was published in the journal Nature on August 12, 2026. The research was led by Xiao Ke and Hairen Tan at Nanjing University, working alongside engineers from solar company Renshine.
Their 0.72-square-meter panels produced 158.4 watts of steady electrical output under standardized testing. This performance equals a certified full-area efficiency of 22.0 percent, setting a record for meter-scale perovskite hardware.
Perovskite compounds absorb sunlight and generate electric current, but they cost far less to process than refined silicon because manufacturers can print them from liquid inks. However, scaling these materials up from tiny laboratory chips to commercial panels usually causes major power losses.
Microscopic flaws on the crystal surface trap electrical charges, preventing the energy from reaching the electrical grid. In an earlier paper published in Science, the Nanjing team managed to grow flat crystal films across large areas, but surface flaws capped the panel efficiency at 17.2 percent.
Solar engineers usually try to repair these flaws by coating the crystal surface with ammonium halide salts. This technique works in laboratories, but it creates two serious problems on factory production lines.
Ammonium salts break down quickly when exposed to humid air, forcing factories to build expensive production lines filled with inert gas. The liquid also fails to coat large sheets evenly, leaving exposed patches that degrade under bright sunlight.
The study solved both problems by changing the solvent recipe used to grow the crystals. They mixed three liquids—2-methoxyethanol, 1,3-dioxolane, and dimethyl sulfoxide—to control how the film dries inside a vacuum chamber. This liquid blend forces a protective layer of formamidinium iodide to gather naturally on the top surface of the crystal.
The team then treated this surface with organic lead-carboxylate salts. The lead compound coats the entire 0.72-square-meter sheet evenly, sealing atomic gaps and blocking ambient moisture without requiring an inert atmosphere.
Accelerated environmental stress tests confirmed the physical durability of the new coating. Technicians placed the panels inside a test chamber set to 85 degrees Celsius and 85 percent relative humidity for 1,300 hours.
Panels with standard ammonium coatings lost 39 percent of their power, but the lead-treated modules lost only two percent. The hardware also completed 300 rapid thermal cycles between minus 40 and 85 degrees Celsius without measurable power loss.
An active and versatile journalist and news editor. He has covered regular and breaking news for several leading publications and news media, including The Hindu, Economic Times, Tomorrow Makers, and many more. Aman holds expertise in politics, travel, and tech news, especially in AI, advanced algorithms, and blockchain, with a strong curiosity about all things that fall under science and tech.
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