Bringing perovskite photovoltaics to market with roll-to-roll production
It took 10 years of research and experimentation, but today TNO, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, is ready to bring the fruit of its commitment to next-generation photovoltaics to market. How? By launching Perovion Technologies, a spin-off created with the goal of starting the first roll-to-roll printed perovskite photovoltaics production. The first in Europe and globally. The research institute itself made the announcement, celebrating its long-standing scientific partnership with SolarNL and Solliance to secure a leading role in the thin film segment.
Why perovskite?
The reason is simple and is the same that has fueled global research in this sector over the past 17 years. From the development of the first perovskite solar cell in 2009 to today, this technology has made giant strides, surpassing the progress of silicon in speed. Today, in terms of conversion efficiency, it competes effortlessly with classic semiconductors, in addition to boasting inexpensive and readily available raw materials.
Not only that. To create a solar cell, a very thin layer of perovskite – between 0.5 and 1 micrometer – is sufficient, thus saving money, further reducing costs, and also opening the doors to multi-junction configurations; configurations facilitated, among other things, by the ability to tune the perovskite band gap during the synthesis phase.
For TNO and its partners, the commitment made in this direction has resulted in flexible and semi-transparent cells with a demonstrated efficiency of 13% and stability of over 1000 hours, covered by 8 patent families.
First printed perovskite photovoltaics production
Perovion Technologies aims to translate laboratory results into a market product. The company’s plans include establishing the world’s first factory in the Netherlands to produce printed perovskite photovoltaics using roll-to-roll (R2R) technology by 2030.
On paper, the process is “simple”: a roll of flexible material (the substrate) is unspooled, where the cells are directly printed. Once the “ink” has dried, the film is re-wound onto a new reel.
| Advantage | Description |
|---|---|
| Speed | A continuous process, ideal for very high production volumes. |
| Lower Costs | Less waste and fewer manual interventions compared to sheet-fed printing. |
| Large Formats | Allows printing of lengths spanning tens or even hundreds of meters without joins. |
The production architecture is specifically designed to reduce capital expenditures.
“Perovion is initially focusing on market segments where the demand for flexible solar cells is already well-defined,” explains Stefan van de Beek, CEO of Perovion Technologies. “Together with module integrators and industrial partners, we are developing applications that can achieve sales relatively quickly. Starting from these initial applications, we will aim to grow towards large-scale European production.”
From cell to module
In this context, TNO researchers are also participating in and coordinating the European project Luminosity (2024-2028). The initiative, funded with nearly 7 million Euros by the European Union, aims to produce perovskite photovoltaic modules using a roll-to-roll process, with a conversion efficiency exceeding 20% and an area greater than 900 cm². The goal: to overcome the efficiency gap between laboratory-produced devices and industrially produced ones, raising the TRL (Technology Readiness Level) to 7.