Imec, a partner in EnergyVille, in collaboration with the University of Cyprus, has reported significant progress in the development of perovskite solar modules, demonstrating long-term outdoor stability after two years of real-world testing. Mini-modules measuring 4 cm² retained 78% of their initial power conversion efficiency (PCE) after one year in outdoor conditions in Cyprus. This marks a notable advancement over the weeks-long stability observed in current perovskite solar modules.
The findings address one of the key challenges in perovskite photovoltaic (PV) technology: the materials’ susceptibility to degradation when exposed to environmental factors such as moisture, heat, and light. These results are among the first to showcase the real-world outdoor performance of perovskite modules, bridging the gap between controlled indoor testing and actual deployment conditions.
A decade of progress in perovskite photovoltaics
Metal halide perovskites have gained attention in the past decade as a promising material for next-generation PV cells due to their unique optical and electronic properties. Materials science and engineering advancements have rapidly improved their PCE, but stability issues remain a significant hurdle for commercialization.
Typically, perovskite PV cells are tested in controlled environments that simulate sunlight. However, these environments do not fully account for the dynamic effects of real-world conditions such as fluctuating temperatures and weather. Few studies have focused on the outdoor performance of perovskite technology, and most have been limited to small-scale cells rather than larger modules.
Findings from real-world testing in Cyprus
Over two years, imec and the University of Cyprus monitored the performance of mini-modules developed at imo-imomec Hasselt University and imec/EnergyVille. The modules, designed with scalability in mind, retained 78% of their initial PCE after one year outdoors. This durability significantly exceeds the stability of currently available perovskite modules, which tend to degrade within weeks or months under similar conditions.
The study also revealed a diurnal performance pattern: Efficiency declined during the day but partially recovered overnight. This phenomenon was captured using an outdoor monitoring setup and further analyzed through machine learning models, which strongly correlated with the observed power output. These insights could enhance predictions of module performance under varying environmental conditions.
Global testing to expand insights
Imec plans to extend testing to sites in Brussels, New Mexico, Madrid, and Freiburg to understand better the degradation behavior of perovskite modules across diverse climates. By examining performance in rainy, arid, and moderate climates, researchers aim to build a comprehensive understanding of environmental impacts on module stability.
“This research represents a major advancement in understanding the degradation of perovskite solar modules in real-world conditions. With further improvements of the efficiency of our mini-modules, which are designed with upscaling in mind, these findings can accelerate the path towards commercialization of this promising technology,” said Tom Aernouts, R&D Manager at imec/UHasselt/EnergyVille, commenting on the significance of the findings.
Funding and publication
The research is part of the TESTARE project, which is partially funded by the European Union under Grant ID 101079488. The findings are detailed in “Diurnal Changes and Machine Learning Analysis of Perovskite Modules Based on Two Years of Outdoor Monitoring,” published in ACS Energy Letters.
