Brazilian oil company Petrobras entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Total and Total Eren to pursue joint business development in solar and onshore wind in July 2018 (see Brazilian Oil Major Looking Into Solar).
The idea was for the company, already active in the wind power space, to facilitate a transition to a low-carbon matrix and dilute risks related to the renewables energies business in the country.
The company is now stepping into solar manufacturing as it entered into a partnership with research and development firm Centre Suisse d'electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM) Brasil to develop perovskite-based ink formulations for printed solar films.
In January 2019, Petrobras and CSEM Brasil announced an investment of $6.5 million over a 30-month period in a research project to prepare completely printed, carbon-efficient solar films coated with perovskite-based ink formulations. The parties will leverage their printing capabilities and expertise on materials development and processing aiming to deliver complete solutions and commercially-ready films.
Petrobras Research Center (CENPES) calls printed perovskite based solar films a 'perfect storm for disruption'.
Following the announcement of the partnership between Petrobras and CSEM Brasil, the institute's spin-off Sunew, a commercial scale installer of printed organic solar films, said it will design, manufacture and install one of the largest organic photovoltaic film (OPV) facades in the world at a Petrobas building.
"As an energy company, we couldn´t look away from one of the biggest trends in the sector. When we consider the possibilities of low cost, 100% printed processes, coupled with the high efficiencies promised by perovskites, we can easily envision very high impact solutions for the energy world," said Oscar Chamberlain, Downstream R&D General Manager at CENPES. They are open for future collaborations, the partner companies said.