Poland based Saule Technologies has launched a pilot production line for printed, flexible, ultra-thin and ultra-light perovskite solar cells in Poland, calling it the 1st in the world of its kind to bring perovskites to commercialization.
From the pilot production line spread on approximately 5,000 m², Saule Technologies plans to provide perovskite PV modules to power internet of things (IoT) devices. These can generate electricity from both the sun and artificial light to be applied for any surface including price labels, building facades, space satellites, among others, according to the company. The pilot line allows the replication of all laboratory processes in a fully automated manner, it added.
Perovskite solar cells have their relevance for both Building Integrated PV (BIPV), as well as for Building Attached PV (BAPV), explained Saule Technologies that has already started works to establish on what it calls a highly efficient industrial line for 100 MW capacity on site.
"Due to its unique properties, perovskite cells can be used wherever the traditional silicon cells can't: on the roofs of buildings with a light construction, on the windows, on TIR tarpaulins, on the bodywork of vehicles, sails, tents, laptop enclosures, even drones and IoT devices," said CEO and Co-Founder of Saule Technologies, Piotr Krych.
Saule Technologies has now signed €250 million worth cooperation agreements with commercial real estate company MVGM Group along with its 20% stakeholder, Polish solar installer and electricity supplier Columbus Energy (see Columbus Energy Acquires 20% Stake In Saule Technologies). MVGM Group is active in 10 European markets.
The Polish company is also seeking to launch itself as a publicly listed firm and has started process to get listed on NewConnect, a market operated by the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2021 through an initial public offering (IPO).
Hailed as the technology of the future for its versatility, perovskite is much in demand with several technology start-ups planning to go in for its commercial manufacturing. A spin-off of University of Oxford is building its perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell fab in Germany using Meyer Burger equipment that it plans to launch in 2022 (see Brandenburg Commits €8.8 Million For Oxford PV Expansion). China's Wuxi Utmost Light Technology or UtmoLight also wants to venture into large area perovskite solar module production (see 20.5% 'Record' Efficiency For Perovskite Module). However, there is still discussion on the long-term reliability of today's perovskite cell technology.
Perovskite solar technology is part of discussion during the 3-day Virtual Conference on What's Hot in European Solar R&D to be organized by TaiyangNews along with European Union funded HORIZON 2020 PV projects—GoPV, HighLite, HIPERION & Super PV, from June 28, 2021 to June 30, 2021. Registration to the conference is free and can be done here.