- QD Solar has reported 24% efficiency for spin-coated perovskite cells, and 23.2% efficiency for slot-die coated, perovskite cells
- The latter was developed for industrial high-throughput manufacturing based on slot-die coating
- Its claim is supported by MKS Instruments/Newport that has officially confirmed the same
Canada based perovskite and quantum dot solar PV technology company QD Solar has achieved 24% efficiency for spin-coated perovskite cells and 23.2% efficiency for slot-die coated, perovskite cells that it claims are manufacturing-ready’, with US based MKS Instruments/Newport officially confirming it.
The company says these efficiencies, officially confirmed by US based MKS Instruments/Newport, are among the highest ever reported for this material class.
It also adds that in contrast to other efficiency announcements related to perovskites, QD Solar’s 23.2% efficiency was developed for industrial high-throughput manufacturing based on slot-die coating.
Co-Founder and CTO of QD Solar Dr. Sjoerd Hoogland said, “Our focus on large scale coating is paying off. These certified numbers demonstrate that QD Solar designed a manufacturing process that not only yields high efficiencies for small lab-sized samples but more importantly has been transferred successfully onto coating equipment used for large scale roll-to-roll production.”
Working on perovskites in tandem with other materials to achieve high efficiencies, QD Solar says its solar sheets are made up of both perovskites and quantum dot cells that solar panel manufacturers can then stack atop each other, laminate and frame these to make a solar panel. These can then be wired to a smart junction box for power addition.
The company’s CEO Dan Shea believes solar panel manufacturers can charge premium prices on high efficiency panels by using its technology and double their profit margins as silicon technology is ‘eroding single digit profit margins’ as fierce competition grows.
Semiconductor based quantum dots are known to cover the entire spectrum of ultraviolet to infrared rays, and when used with perovskites these can help generate higher yield.
Back in January 2022, Switzerland’s EPFL reported a record 25.7% efficiency for perovskite solar cells of 0.08 cm² by using a quantum dot layer, and increasing the surface area of the cells to 1 cm², 20 cm² and 64 cm² in the same configuration helped achieve the efficiency of 23.3%, 21.7% and 20.6%, respectively (see 25.7% Perovskite Efficiency With Quantum Dots).
