The Perovskite Competence Cluster

the projects

Thanks to its long-standing, successful cooperation, the competence cluster combines research excellence and industrial application in a unique way.

The first facilites and activities (PeroTec 1-3 and PeroUp) for commissioning have already received financial support from the Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Energy Sector Baden-Württemberg at the ZSW.

With the current project PeroClu1 the next decisive step is now taken: the targeted upscaling of perovskite solar cells. The project receives a strong financial start-up – with Funding by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWE) as well as from Ministry of Economics, Labor and Tourism Baden-Württemberg. PeroClu1 is thus sending a clear signal for the industrial future of this key technology.

Thanks to complementary expertise, technology transfer and product development takes place across the entire value chain.

We offer excellent technology transfer

Our pilot lines – rigid and flexible

Why Perovskite?

Hybrid organic inorganic perovskite with ABX₃ structure form the basis of modern Perovskite solar cells (PSC) – one of the most promising, cost-effective thin-film technologies in photovoltaics.

Through the targeted combination of different cations, metals and halides the material properties can be precisely adjusted and adapted to specific applications.

In just a few years, Perovskite solar cells recorded an unprecedented leap in efficiency:
The efficiency increased from 3.8% to over 26% and thus almost reaches the level of established silicon solar cells – with the simultaneous potential of Shockley-Queisser-Limit of 33% exhaust.

Their exceptional optoelectronic properties also enable flexible band gap adjustment from the visible to the infrared spectral range and thus open up a wide range of possible uses in tandem architectures and new types of photovoltaic applications.

Importance of Perovskite Semiconductors for Photovoltaics and Other Applications

Currently, 90% of all solar cells come from silicon (Si), which, after almost 40 years of development, has soon reached its practically realizable maximum. Further improvements are expensive and require new approaches, e.g. For example, applying complementary materials to silicon in a tandem approach to convert more sunlight into energy. Perovskite semiconductors form a promising material group for this purpose. Perovskite/Si tandem achieves significantly higher efficiencies than individual Si solar cells. Thin, light perovskite layers can also be applied to flexible substrates, whereby curved surfaces such as facades or car roofs can be used. Fig.2 shows that silicon and CIGS cells reach their theoretical maximum, tandems with perovskite can overcome these limits and PSC technology can become a ‘game changer’.

The focus is on efficient, stable perovskite individual modules and the development of industry-relevant coating processes – a prerequisite for later module development (‘proof of concept’).

Most research on liquid-processed perovskites relates to small-area spin-coating coatings. Transitional techniques such as blade processes and finally slot die coating are suitable for upscaling. As shown in Fig.3, efficiency decreases sharply with increasing coating area, and from approx. 100cm² spin-coating must be replaced in favor of slot casting. The processes must be further developed in particular in air and with non-toxic solvents.

Product variety with stable, highly efficient perovskite solar cells

In principle, Perovskite thin-film solar cells open paths in rigid solar cells on glass or, if necessary, metal supports, as well as mechanically flexible, lightweight products. There are numerous possibilities to use perovskite in 2-terminal (2T) or 4-terminal (4T) components. This not only improves conventional products, but also develops new multispectral concepts with efficiencies of over 40%.

In addition, completely new products can be created. For example, lightweight solar modules make it possible to install solar systems on large industrial roofs that could not be used with conventional silicon technology due to weight constraints.