Solar manufacturer Tandem PV has secured nearly $1 billion in Letter of Intent (LOI) agreements for its next-generation solar modules. The high-efficiency panels feature a perovskite-silicon 4T (four-terminal) design. The company sees a clear path to increasing efficiency by 2% annually reaching 37% by 2030.
Tandem PV shipped its “first production-quality panel” two weeks ago and expects revenue-generating sales later this year, according to CEO Scott Wharton.
To achieve bankability, Tandem will begin running paid pilot deployments with independent power producers (IPPs) later this year. Those paid deployments will begin the outdoor testing required for bankability, which Wharton said could be achieved after roughly 6 to 12 months of field data.
The company expects to reach high-volume, gigawatt-scale manufacturing in 2028, with possibly a 34% solar panel if its technology curve stays steady. The current demonstration format is roughly the size of a First Solar Series 4 module, while Tandem’s high-volume product is designed around standard 1-by-2-meter and 2-by-3-meter module formats of the solar industry. The demonstration module from June was 100 cm2.
When asked what needs to happen between now and commercial sales later this year, Wharton noted that it is overcoming the final engineering hurdles of translating processes from the R&D lab to panels that are 60 times larger, and he feels the team can clearly “see the finish line.”
