South Korean researchers have set a new world record in perovskite/CIGS tandem solar cells—widely regarded as the next generation of thin-film photovoltaics—achieving a 26.7% energy conversion efficiency. The Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) announced on the 1st that the cell developed by its Photovoltaics Research Department has passed official certification by Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) and has been listed on the best research-cell efficiency chart published by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The new record improves upon the 26.3% efficiency achieved last year by a joint research team from Seoul National University and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) by 0.4 percentage points. By surpassing competing teams from China and Germany and breaking its own record within a single year, South Korea has reaffirmed its leadership in next-generation thin-film solar technology.
The current solar power market is dominated by silicon single-junction solar cells, which offer low production costs and advantages in mass manufacturing. However, silicon’s theoretical efficiency limit of approximately 29% has made tandem architectures—which split and absorb different wavelength bands of light—a focal point for next-generation technology.
The cell developed by the research team places a perovskite layer on top and a copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) layer underneath. Both materials can be fabricated as thin films, giving the cell lightweight and flexible properties unlike conventional silicon cells. This is what enables application to curved building facades, automobile roofs, and aircraft fuselages.
A key barrier to commercialization has been performance degradation caused by damage to the perovskite light-absorbing layer during the cell bonding process, as well as unnecessary light absorption by certain constituent layers. The KIER research team analyzed the sources of these losses and developed interfacial layer materials and processing techniques that reduce perovskite damage, while also optimizing the upper transparent electrode and charge transport layer structures to minimize photocurrent loss.
As a result, the team achieved 27% efficiency under laboratory conditions and received a certified efficiency of 26.7% from Fraunhofer ISE, an external certification body.
Perovskite/CIGS tandem cells are expected to expand the range of solar power applications by generating more electricity from the same surface area. In particular, because thin films can be rolled up and loaded onto launch vehicles, the technology is highly promising as a power source for future space industries—including small satellites and space-based data centers—where weight and installation footprint are critical variables.
Jeong In-young, a senior researcher at KIER’s Photovoltaics Research Department who led the study, said, “The significance lies in simultaneously reducing both interface losses and optical losses that occur in the process of combining perovskite and CIGS, thereby improving efficiency and stability at the same time.” Jeong added, “Having our efficiency verified by a world-class certification body and listed as the highest efficiency is a result that objectively validates the competitiveness of our technology.”
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