University of Sydney researchers will team with a Queensland-based solar panel manufacturer to accelerate the commercialisation of next-generation silicon-perovskite tandem solar cell technology after securing $7.25 million in federal government funding via the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced it would provide University of Sydney researchers with AUD 7.25 million ($5.2 million) towards a AUD 19.5 million project to develop more durable Silicon (Si)-perovskite tandem solar cells in order to maintain their high efficiencies for commercial use.
The University of Sydney team will partner with Brisbane-based solar panel manufacturing startup Unison Solar Energy and scientists from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University to take the next-generation technology from research towards commercial-scale production.
“Our ambition is to pioneer a new era of Australian solar manufacturing and commercialize leading technologies here at home,” Unison Solar Chief Executive Officer Allen Guo said.
Si-perovskite tandem cell technology has demonstrated the potential to overcome the performance limitations of current solar technologies that rely on silicon as the sole semiconductor. Silicon’s conversion rate – the amount of solar energy it converts into electricity – currently peaks at about 25% but the researchers said Si-perovskite tandem cell technology could theoretically deliver conversion efficiencies of about 40%.
