On 21st of May in Wrocław, Poland, Saule Technologies, a world leader in research into next-generation, perovskite-based photovoltaic cells, opened the first perovskite photovoltaic cells factory in the world. Saule Technologies is the first company in the world to enter the commercialization phase of this promising technology.
GCL Photoelectric built its first production line for perovskite cells in September 2021. It can produce 100 megawatts of solar panels with the dimensions of 1 meters by 2 meters a year. The panels made at the new plant will have a relatively high photoelectric conversion efficiency of 26 percent, the firm said.
Yet, further research efforts are needed to push towards industrialization of perovskite solar cells. These include controlling the crystallization of perovskite films over large areas, developing robust encapsulation designs and, more importantly, ensuring the long-term reliability of solar cells.
After a decade of meticulous preparation, on December 27th, GCL Solar Energy held the groundbreaking ceremony for the world's first gigawatt-scale large-format (1.2 meters × 2.4 meters) perovskite production base in Kunshan High-tech Zone, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province.
Perovskite/silicon solar cells are expected to appear in mass production as early as 2021 4, with companies commencing their low-volume production lines, around the few hundreds of megawatts, by the end of this year 5.
The combination of perovskite and silicon technologies is currently viewed as the most promising and fastest route to market for perovskites not only because of the large market share held by silicon, but also due to the high efficiencies. Silicon solar cells are close to their practical efficiency limit of 26.7% in laboratory devices.