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The University of New South Wales is running an AUD 18 million field test of commercial perovskite and perovskite-silicon tandem modules, supported by AUD 5.6 million, equivalent to $3.8 million, from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency through its ultra low-cost solar research and development funding round, according to pv magazine.
The project is conducted with Trina Solar, MicroQuanta, the University of Surrey and CSIRO, with modules sourced confidentially from multiple manufacturers.
As many as 160 next-generation solar modules are being installed outdoors at a UNSW property in Manly Vale, located 28 kilometres north of Sydney’s central business district. There they will be exposed to shifting temperatures, humidity, strong ultraviolet light, rain, salty air and storms.
The site will host single-junction perovskite modules alongside several tandem configurations, including perovskite layers integrated directly onto silicon and perovskite or silicon devices stacked separately.
Jessica Yajie Jiang, a senior research fellow at the UNSW Sydney School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering and the project lead, indicated that early observations have shown notably different behaviours among the modules. She noted that they operate in distinct ways and exhibit different failure modes, which she described as what makes the project interesting. She also raised the question of whether the perovskite modules will deliver the expected lifetime.
The experiment also addresses the limits of silicon in solar panels, which Jiang said are nearing their physical ceiling. She cited a theoretical efficiency limit of 29.4% for silicon and noted that the record already exceeds 28%, prompting questions about how to move beyond current technology and surpass 30% efficiency. According to Jiang, perovskite absorbs one portion of sunlight while silicon absorbs another, so together they make fuller use of the solar spectrum and can raise overall efficiency much higher.
After outdoor observations are finished, the environmental conditions will be recreated indoors and the modules returned to the laboratory for controlled testing. Microscopic and nanoscale analysis will let researchers examine what occurs within the materials as performance declines over time. Jiang said the aim is to understand why modules fail, what is actually happening and to identify the degradation mechanism at the nanoscale.
Findings will be provided to the manufacturer for design or manufacturing adjustments, after which new modules will be sent back for further testing. Jiang said that completing this cycle improves understanding of what happens in commercial products and helps manufacturers refine them.
The field-testing of commercial perovskite and tandem modules project is scheduled to run until 2031.
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Australian subsidiary of global lighting group
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