Perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells: a pathway to 30% efficiency

This project aims to develop a new type of solar cell that is much more efficient than todays commercial silicon solar cells. Increasing cell efficiency is one of the most effective ways to reduce the cost of solar electricity, but silicon cells are approaching practical and theoretical limits. This project expects to boost the efficiency of silicon solar cells by adding a low-cost solar cell on top to create a tandem device. The expected outcome is a solar cell that can convert more than 30 per cent of incident sunlight into electricity, compared to 20-25 per cent for current cells. Developing cheap, high efficiency solar cells should further reduce the cost of solar electricity, and accelerate the uptake of clean energy.