Fostering the development of perovskite-based photovoltaic by the use of 2D materials: a winning approach in an industrially relevant environment
Antonio Agresti a
a C.H.O.S.E. (Center for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy), Electronic Engineering Department, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via del Politecnico 1, 00133, Rome, Italy
Invited Speaker, Antonio Agresti, presentation 010
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.nipho.2023.010
Publication date: 3rd April 2023

Hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are one of the most promising technologies for new-generation photovoltaics due to outstanding semiconductor properties and low-cost solution processing methods for the fabrication. Indeed, PSCs dominated the PV scientific research in the last decade, by developing efficient and stable devices, produced by employing scalable and low-cost printing techniques, easily embedded in roll2roll or sheet2sheet production lines. However, PSC technology still requires to demonstrate the transfer from lab to fab, pushing the scientific community in finding brilliant solution for drawing a feasible and reliable route toward its commercialization. Moreover, the impressive potentiality of perovskite technology has been already demonstrated to compete on equal footing with traditional inorganic PV or to work in synergy with established silicon technology in tandem cell configuration.[1] As a matter of fact, the astonishing power conversion efficiency recently achieved by small area perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells (PCE>32%) demonstrated the technology potentialities to be appealing for the PV market.[2] However, such technology should keep the promise to be easily manufactured by employing the exiting silicon cell production line and by minimizing the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). Thus, the synergetic development of large area perovskite devices fitting the standard silicon wafer dimensions and the optimization of perovskite/silicon tandem architectures can definitively open up new horizons for winning the commercialization challenges. In this scenario, the use of interface engineering based on bi-dimensional (2D) materials is here proposed as an efficient tool for trap passivation and energy level alignment in perovskite devices, by mitigating the performance losses induced by the scaling-up process.[3] In particular, the successful application of 2D materials, i.e., graphene,[4] functionalized MoS2,[5] and MXenes [6,7] in perovskite solar modules (PSMs) allowed to achieve PCE overcoming 17% and 14.5% over 121 and 210 cm2 substrate area respectively. Moreover, an ad-hoc lamination procedure employing low temperature cross linking EVA (at 80°C-85°C) allowed to fabricate several 0.5 m2 panels, finally assembled in Crete Island, in the first worldwide fully operating 2D material-perovskite solar farm.[8] The 2D material engineered structure employed for the opaque perovskite modules composing the solar farm, has been further modified and optimized for realizing small (0.54 cm2) and large area semi-transparent modules (active area > 60 cm2) suitable for tandem application, in two-terminal (2T) mechanically stacked architecture.[9] Finally, here we propose a novel design for realizing efficient tandem perovskite/Si panel based on voltage-matched (VM) architecture. Following this approach, the tandem panel can be realized by using commercial M2 (15.7x15.7 cm2) silicon heterojunction (Si-HJT) cells provided by ENEL-3SUN company, while the perovskite solar modules can be independently optimized, realized and stacked atop the Si-HJT cells employing an ad-hoc developed lamination process. Among the advantages of the VM architecture, the much less sensitivity toward spectral variations allowed to employ bifacial Si-HJT bottom cell, gaining extra power output exploiting the radiation reflected by the ground (albedo).

This work was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant GrapheneCore3 N° 881603. 

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