this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2024
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10
Silicon plus perovskite solar reaches 34 percent efficiency (arstechnica.com)
submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (4 children)

So, the team ... got efficiencies in the area of 33 to 34 percent. They also sent a sample to a European test lab, which came out with an efficiency of 33.7 percent. The researchers have a few ideas that should boost this to 35 percent, but didn't attempt them for this paper. For comparison, the maximum efficiency for silicon alone is in the area of 27 percent, so that represents a very significant boost and is one of the highest perovskite/silicon combinations ever reported.

Love this research and I hope solar eventually beats ICE engines for efficiency.

However....

The crystals were reasonably stable when simply exposed to light. But the combination of light and heat caused a more significant decay in performance. The researchers say that "devices maintain ≥90 percent of their initial performance up to 1,000 hours," but a decay of up to 10 percent in about three months is not ready for commercial deployment. So, still some work to do there.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

I hope solar eventually beats ICE engines for efficiency

I'm not sure your comment makes a lot of sense. The problem with solar isn't that it's not as efficient as internal combustion engines, it's that you can't generate electricity on-demand. But it's already a cheaper form of energy than burning fossil fuels in many countries.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

ICE engines

Internal combustion engine engines.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Sorry, I forgot to go to ATM machine before I wrote that comment

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Do you still remember your PIN number though?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

No, but I have a device with a LCD display where I can look it up

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Given that the first perovskites studied had lifespans that could be measured in minutes, this is great progress, but the fundamental problem is that as a class of materials they just don't want to exist outside of an inert atmosphere. Without significant progress in stability and encapsulation materials, they're more of a research curiosity than a viable real-world PV tech.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The differences in efficiency result in very different things.

ICE - heat, smoke, carbon, pollution

Solar -

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Solar still indirectly creates pollution in the form of production of the materials needed, manufacturing, etc. Also, huge solar farms can have a significant detrimental impact on local ecosystems, in addition to the large amount of waste created from old panels: https://hbr.org/2021/06/the-dark-side-of-solar-power

https://www.popsci.com/environment/solar-farm-construction-epa-water-violations/

It's still better than ICE, as that also creates waste and actively pollutes, but it's still notable and hopefully over time those negative byproduct can also be eliminated/significantly reduced.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

We're reaching the limit for photovoltaics. Really need to pour money into optical rectennas.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Current panel efficiency is at roughly 22%. A 34% efficient panel would increase current solar generation to 133% just by replacing current panels. That's much easier then building new solar generation plants. This would move the "total energy produced Earth by solar" amount from the current 5.5% to 7.35%

That's a pretty stunning improvement for a comparably easy lift.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The longevity numbers on these are abysmal, though. Like nearly useless after a year.

I'm not interested in hearing about perovskites breaking efficiency records when the longevity issue isn't solved.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 3 months ago

Not only that, they're terrible on the toxicity front.