2-in-1 Thin-film Photovoltaics Paired for Higher Performance

ZSW combines perovskite with CIGS to build a tandem solar module with 21+ percent efficiency.

Highly efficient, affordable solar panels enable us to accelerate the rollout of photovoltaic (PV) systems and generate more solar power. A promising next-generation technology is the tandem module. Made of two sandwiched solar modules, it delivers more electrical energy than conventional panels. The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) has now achieved 21.1 percent efficiency with this technology. Not only are these thin-film-based modules highly efficient, they can also be light and flexible. Modules made of lightweight, pliable materials open doors to many use cases that remain closed to the standard rigid modules found in solar parks.

Tandem solar module made of semi-transparent perovskite (left) and CIGS (right). Photo: ZSW

After decades of rigorous research, the efficiency of the prevailing silicon cells is fast approaching the practical limit of around 27 percent. As it stands, there is but one technology that promises further increases to well over 30 percent – the tandem solar module. It consists of solar cells made of different materials layered on top of one another. The different active layers work together to increase efficiency by jointly making better use of the width of the solar spectrum than each single solar cell does on its own.

One group of materials, metal-organic perovskites, holds great promise for tandem solar modules. “Some compounds in this class of materials exhibit excellent optical and electronic properties and are abundantly and inexpensively available on Earth,” says Dr. Jan-Philipp Becker, head of ZSW’s Photovoltaics: Materials Research department. “With their high optical energy bandgap, compounds in the top solar module are able to use the high-energy range of the solar spectrum very efficiently. At the same time, they allow a considerable share of the spectrum’s low-energy range to pass through to the bottom solar module.”

Structure of the tandem module made of perovskite (top) and CIGS (bottom) modules. Artwork: ZSW

Excellent adaptation to the solar spectrum

Conventional silicon PV cells would appear to be the obvious choice for the bottom solar module. However, an even more interesting proposition is to use thin-film technologies exclusively. The bottom module can also be made of perovskite or of CIGS, which is the case in ZSW’s module. CIGS is a mix of materials – copper, indium and gallium vapor-deposited onto a rigid or flexible substrate in a selenium atmosphere. The institute’s experts and industry partners had developed this technology and ramped it up for mass production in earlier projects. CIGS’s spectral absorption can be tailored to a perfect fit for the tandem composite.

ZSW’s tandem solar module has an area of nine square centimeters and achieves 21.1 percent efficiency. This prototype also features scalable component architecture suitable for industrial manufacturing. The best performance attained to date with tandem solar modules made of perovskite and CIGS is just slightly higher at 22 percent. ZSW has already achieved an excellent efficiency level of 26.6 percent with this combination of materials in smaller laboratory cells.

Several steps to success

It took multiple stages of technical development to achieve these outstanding values. First, the researchers optimized the submodules. The top perovskite half-module not only has to be highly efficient; it must also be semitransparent to allow enough light to pass through to the bottom module. They made several improvements to this end, including developing more transparent electrodes and enhancing the passivation of boundary layers.

The tandem structure as a whole in all prepared cells and modules outperformed individual cells or modules in terms of efficiency. This clearly demonstrates the superiority of tandem solar modules. ZSW now aims to further scale up and develop tandem thin-film technology in a joint effort with interested industry clients.

Tandem solar modules – efficient, light and flexible

Tandem solar cells that pair perovskite with CIGS offer benefits beyond high efficiency. This thin-film technology can also be deposited on plastic or steel films to make light, flexible modules that lend themselves to many more use cases. They can be installed the conventional way in solar parks and be seamlessly integrated into vehicles and on factory roofs that cannot handle heavy loads.

Recent studies point to even more benefits: For one, it costs less to generate power with thin-film PV modules. For the other, PV production consumes less material and energy to leave a better environmental footprint.

ZSW partnered with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in this research initiative, which was part of the recently completed CAPITANO project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

A Tandem to Fast-track Photovoltaics’ Advance

ZSW ramps up research plants for perovskite tandem solar cells

Semitransparent perovskite solar modules like this one are well suited
for use in tandem solar modules. Photo: ZSW

The future certainly looks sunny for solar cells equipped with two electricity-generating semiconductors. With good reason – their potential efficiency is far higher than that of conventional single solar cells. They can also be lighter and more flexible, depending on their component materials. The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) now aims to fast-track this promising tandem solar technology’s time to market. To this end, its researchers have put two new high-performance coating plants into operation. These systems produce tandem solar cells consisting of a perovskite solar cell that can be combined with other types of solar cells. The various layers are deposited under ultra-clean conditions. Companies in the solar sector can take advantage of these capabilities to optimize their developments in the area of tandem solar cells.

See the original press release at https://www.zsw-bw.de/en/newsroom/news/news-detail/news/detail/News/a-tandem-to-fast-track-photovoltaics-advance.html

New efficiency record for flexible CIGS solar cells

Our Swiss colleagues at EMPA have recently achieved a new efficiency record of 21.4% for flexible CIGS solar cell on polymer film. Solar cells of this type are especially suited for applications on roofs, transport vehicles or mobile devices.

A hand in the lab holding a flexible CIGS solar cell (image: EMPA)
Flexible CIGS solar cell (image: EMPA)

Congratulations!

See the original press release at https://www.empa.ch/web/s604/cigs-efficiency-record-2021.

Indium Availability for CIGS thin-film solar cells in Europe

CIGS Thin-Film Photovoltaics is indispensible for prosperity, energy transition and enabling net zero emission targets within the EU. CIGS solar modules are produced with small amounts of indium. The capacity for indium production in Europe is sufficient for more than 100 GW PV production per year with the potential to meet Terawatt challenges in a cost-effective manner. A number of renowned European and US research institute have compiled information from recent studies and publications showing that indium should be considered an “earth abundant element” in order to facilitate research progress in EU countries.

For more information, see the enclosed document.

This document is a work in progress. Please do not hesitate to suggest improvements in the comments, we will add them in due course.

Download here the Indium Availability for CIGS PVSEC-31 2021 presentation.

Facade with CIGS thin-film solar modules in Aarhus, Denmark

CIGS paper published in renowned Nature Communications journal

Research team pinpoints potential for improving CIGS solar cells

The efficiency of today’s thin-film solar cells with the CIGS compound semiconductor has already topped the 23 percent mark, but now a further increase looks to be within reach. A team staffed with researchers from the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW), Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) recently identified a key point where the performance of thin-film solar cells can be improved for the cell to convert more sunlight into electricity. Published in the renowned science journal Nature Communications in August 2020, the results of this investigation reveal how manufacturers of CIGS thin-film solar cells can achieve even higher efficiencies.

For further information, see:

Save the date: IW-CIGSTech 11 on the horizon!

Update: IW-CIGSTech 11 has been converted to an online conference.

Place and date have now been set for the international CIGS workshop IW-CIGSTech 11! It will take place at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB) in Berlin Adlershof on 22nd and 23rd June 2020. The workshop will be co-hosted by HZB and ZSW.

The first day (Monday) will be devoted to industry updates, followed by a social event in the evening. On the second day (Tuesday), research organizations will have their say. The day will end in the early afternoon to enable everyone to get home on Tuesday.

More detailed information will be published at usual on the event website iw-cigstech.org.

You would like to be added to the event mailing list? Please write to info [at] iw-cigstech [dot] org.

New CIGS module efficiency record at NICE Solar Energy

German-Chines joint venture NICE Solar Energy GmbH has achieved a new world record efficiency for CIGS thin-film solar modules with 17.6 percent. This efficiency record, confirmed by TÜV Rheinland on a module surface area of 120 x 60 centimeters, was achieved on production equipment of Manz at the R&D site of NICE Solar Energy in Schwäbisch Hall. For more details, see news articles by Manz AG and pv magazine.

Tandem Solar Modules: One-Two Combination Packs a More Powerful Punch

Perovskite/ CIGS semiconductor pairing promises to boost photovoltaic efficiency

From the laboratory cell to a small solar module: A perovskite innovation from the ZSW laboratory. Photo: ZSW.

The efficiency ceiling of commercially available solar modules leaves little room for improvement. Tandem solar modules with two light-harvesting active layers have far greater potential. The future could well belong to this promising technology. Researchers engaged in the Capitano project are combining thin-film solar modules based on perovskite semiconductors with semiconductors made of copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS). This combination is the key to building remarkably efficient tandem solar cells with all the advantages of thin-film technology and an efficiency factor that could top the 30-percent mark. The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Schwäbisch Hall-based enterprise NICE Solar Energy, and the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) have joined forces in this project with the ZSW acting as coordinator.

Download complete press release as PDF.

Visit coordinator ZSW this week at EU-PVSEC in Marseille, booth A1.

CIGS White Paper 2019 now available

CIGS White Paper 2019
CIGS White Paper 2019

The new edition of the CIGS White Paper has been published today. In a joint press release, research institutes ZSW and HZB describe why thin-film PV, in particular CIGS, is a key technology to drive global energy transition.

The CIGS White Paper 2019 is available for download. The complete text of the White Paper can also be read online on this website – simply select “Why invest in CIGS thin-film technology?” in the menu.