20.5% ‘Record’ Efficiency For Perovskite Module

Jiangsu, China based solar technology company Wuxi UtmoLight Technology Co Ltd has announced what it touts as a 'new world record' of reaching 20.5% power conversion efficiency for a perovskite solar module. It claims this is the highest record generated by perovskite solar modules in the world.
In March 2020, CEA Liten announced reaching 20.3% power conversion efficiency for a perovskite solar module using 8 cells on 11.2 cm² active area (see Liten CEA: 20.3% Perovskite Mini-Module Efficiency).
Confirming that the efficiency was certified by Japan Electrical Safety & Environment Technology Laboratories (JET), UtmoLight said it achieved this efficiency for its mini module with a designated area of 63.98 cm². In December 2020, the Suzhou University Photovoltaic Alumni Association reported UtmoLight's perovskite solar module efficiency as having reached 18.49% and confirmed by Germany's TUV Nord (see China PV Snippets: Sungrow, Gaojing, Tongwei, GCL). However, in comparison, the size of commercial 500W+ silicon modules with 21+% efficiency is over 27,000 cm².
Stating that this is comparable to the efficiency of mainstream crystalline silicon products, UtmoLight stressed that this indicates that China has mastered the core technology in the field of perovskite solar modules, and it is only a matter of time before the country achieves mass production.
Backed by Great Wall Holding Group, UtmoLight said it plans to build production lines to manufacture large-area perovskite solar modules to accelerate the commercialization of the perovskite PV technology.
"Large-area preparation is considered to be the biggest obstacle to the commercialization and mass production of perovskite technology, this explains why the technological breakthrough achieved by UtmoLight has attracted widespread attention across the industry," the company claimed, adding, "UtmoLight has mastered a large-area perovskite preparation technology which enables large-area module production without sacrificing high conversion efficiency."
Perovskite is getting a lot of attention as the PV technology of the future due to its expected potential for higher efficiencies and lower production costs. UK based renewables focused market intelligence firm Rethink Technology Research in a recent report forecast global perovskite solar manufacturing capacity to reach 117 GW by 2030 (see Solar's Future Bright With Perovskite?).
Recently the US Department of Energy announced it will target to cut cost of solar energy by 60% by 2030 by committing around $128 million to fund research and development efforts. Perovskite and CdTe PV technologies will be a main focus of this exercise (see US Aims To Cut Solar Energy Costs By 60% By 2030).