Home » Latest News » Scaling up game changing solar cell tech
Energy Latest News

Scaling up game changing solar cell tech

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will provide $6 million to Greatcell Solar to accelerate development of a new printable perovskite solar cell.
In an ASX announcement, Greatcell announced the funding as part of a $17.3 million project to develop a new, world-class prototype facility to scale up fabrication of high quality, large-area perovskite devices.
Queanbeyan-based Greatcell Solar aims to commercialise its perovskite solar cells as a potential alternative to conventional silicon solar cell technology. This technology can also be applied to building materials such as glass and metal sheeting.
Ultra thin perovskite is a new solar cell material with the potential to provide lower cost solar PV cells. Perovskite solar cells have the potential to be manufactured very cheaply using common industrial processes.
The funding follows on from an earlier ARENA grant of $450,000 to demonstrate perovskite solar cells were both efficient and stable, confirming the potential viability of developing them for commercial-scale manufacture.
ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the technology was an advance towards the potential for ubiquitous, low cost solar.
“ARENA is excited to see the further development of Greatcell Solar’s perovskite technology. This has the potential to expand the applications for which solar can be used and to reduce costs.
“We want to move perovskites closer towards commercialisation. This will help accelerate solar PV innovation in Australia, which is one of our key priorities,” he said.
Greatcell Solar Managing Director Richard Caldwell said: “With this financial support from the Australian Government, we expect to demonstrate that perovskite solar cell technology is a strong candidate for commercialisation.
“It has the compelling attributes of lower cost and greater versatility than existing PV technologies. In particular, it is suited to real world solar conditions. In the long term, this technology has the potential to provide a cost competitive and clean energy solution,” he said.

Add Comment

Click here to post a comment