Project Name: Low-Cost Scaffold-Reinforced Perovskite Solar Modules with Integrated Light Management
Funding Opportunity: PVRD2
SETO Subprogram: Photovoltaics
Location: Stanford, CA
SETO Award Amount: $225,000
Awardee Cost Share: $56,250
Principal Investigator: Reinhold Dauskardt

Novel hybrid perovskites hold great promise for early-stage, next-generation solar cells. However, the mechanical fragility, chemical instability, and moisture sensitivity inherent to organometal trihalide perovskites must be addressed. This project focuses on researching a revolutionary new compound solar cell module design based on a recent breakthrough in Stanford’s lab that mitigates the chemical, thermal, and mechanical degradation of planar perovskite solar cells.

Approach

The research team is integrating an innovative patterned hexagonal reinforcing scaffold filled with perovskite to build solar cells, which is a departure from traditional planar solar cell design. After the optimal design is selected from several models under development, the team will create module-scale devices and test their performance and reliability both indoors and outdoors.

Innovation

This project aims to produce perovskite solar cells that have performance and durability on par with currently available commercialized solar cells. This new technology will be fully compatible with current or future methods for perovskite solar cell fabrication, with the advantage of improved reliability that will ultimately lead to a reduced levelized cost of electricity.