In a move toward upgrading solar power technologies, a team of Israeli researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has developed an eco-friendly way to lengthen the lifespan of perovskite-based solar cells.
The researchers designed a new structure to hold the cells, which allows for the easy removal and replacement of perovskite, a light-sensitive material that degrades over time. The process allows for the full restoration of a panel’s photovoltaic capacities and essentially enables it to be recycled.
Perovskite is a mineral structure that has the capacity to absorb light and is used as a semiconductor. The growing field of perovskite-based solar cell (PSC) technologies has gained traction in recent years, as its manufacturing costs are significantly lower than those for standard silicon-based equivalents.
Perovskite has also dramatically increased the efficiency of solar cells.
“Before this research, it was impossible [to remove perovskite],” Prof. Lioz Etgar, head of the Excitonic Solar Cells Research Group and a chemistry professor at the university, told The Media Line.
“You needed to throw out the whole solar cell and make a new one, so this is one of the advantages of this technology,” Etgar, who led the research, explained. “We took one step forward and actually designed a new architecture for solar cells.”
The new technology paves the way for more sustainable solar power production, he adds.