Pilot Line For Tandem Solar Cells Under EU’s Pepperoni Project

• HZB and Qcells will establish a pilot line to produce high efficiency perovskite silicon tandem solar cells and modules in Germany
• The manufacturing line will be located at Qcells' European headquarters in Thalheim
• Aim is to scale up the active area of the tandems from 1cm²of today's record devices to industry-relevant dimensions
• Dubbed project Pepperoni, it is co-funded under European Union's Horizon Europe facility

Yet another step taken by solar industry, academia and policymakers to revive European solar manufacturing with German research institute Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and cell & module maker from South Korea, Qcells announcing a pilot tandem production line in Germany, funded by the European Union (EU).

Dubbed Pepperoni, the 4-year research and innovation project co-funded under EU's Horizon Europe facility, the pilot line will come up at the Qcells' European headquarters in Thalheim, Germany. It will produce high efficiency perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells and modules using 'innovative' equipment, processes and materials.

Through this project, the partners aim to scale up the active area of these tandems from the 1cm² of today's record devices to industry-relevant dimensions promising a 'fast and cost-competitive route to mass production of PV modules of high performance and long durability'.

Qcells will be the industrial partner for HZB's perovskite silicon tandem cell for which the latter has achieved 29.80% efficiency in November 2021 (see 29.80% Record Tandem Solar Cell Efficiency). Following this, in March 2022, HZB announced a 'world record' efficiency of 28.7% for a 2-terminal tandem solar cell using perovskite on top and Qcells' mass production ready silicon bottom cell based on Q.ANTUM technology (see 28.7% Efficiency For 2-T Tandem Solar Cell).

"At HZB we have developed the tandem technology to world-record efficiency level on lab scale," said Head of Group Industry Compatible Processes, Solar Cells and Modules at HZB, Bernd Stannowski. "We are now looking forward to cooperate in the PEPPERONI consortium with partners from science and industry to jointly scale this new and very promising technology up and transfer it to industry."

The duo believes this will contribute to enabling European industrial leadership on PV production in the global market.

Earlier in November 2022, the European Commission (EC) launched its IBC4EU, coordinated by another German research center ISC Konstanz, to promote bifacial IBC technology for fast launch of GW scale production in the EU (see EU's IBC4EU Solar Project With ISC Konstanz).