First entirely roll-to-roll system points way to cheap printed perovskite solar cells

A new roll-to-roll system can print perovskite solar cells, which could streamline the scale-up of the technology. ‘It marks a pivotal milestone in the field, showcasing the potential for the cost-effective production of high-performance solar cells,’ says lead author Doojin Vak from CSIRO Manufacturing in Victoria, Australia. ‘This breakthrough suggests the possibility of producing large-scale perovskite solar modules that could match … even surpass the performance of commercially available silicon [alternatives],’ he adds.

Roll-to-roll production had already been identified as a promising process for the manufacture of perovskite solar cells, explains Vak. However, hurdles such as depositing the perovskite solutions on continuously sliding substrates, as well as time and temperature constraints, limited the industrial implementations. ‘Our team demonstrated the roll-to-roll production of series-connected [solar] modules for the first time and achieved a significant increase in the record efficiency of solution-processed solar cells,’ he adds. Producing a roll-to-roll perovskite solar module using this technology took two researchers two days.