Xinhua News Agency reports: my country has overcome the challenge of mass production of large-size perovskite photovoltaic cells!

On December 5th, Xinhua News Agency reported that a joint team comprised of Professor Tan Hairen's research group at Nanjing University and Renshuo Solar Energy (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., a perovskite photovoltaic company, successfully developed an environmentally friendly solvent that can directly contact air, bringing them one step closer to the goal of mass-producing large-size perovskite photovoltaic cells.

The international academic journal 《Science》published a related research paper online on December 5th.

The paper shows the power generation performance of mass-produced large-size perovskite Photovoltaic Modules at the rooftop power station of Renshuo Solar Energy (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., from October 2024 to November 2025.

Tan Hairen explained that perovskite, as a popular material for next-generation photovoltaic technology, has many advantages such as flexibility, low cost, high efficiency, and low energy consumption. However, large-size perovskite photovoltaic cells have long faced three major challenges in mass production: unstable thin-film quality, environmentally unfriendly processes, and unreliable performance, resulting in perovskite being "praised but not commercially viable."

“Overcoming these three challenges is like holding a triangular flat plate with three ball bearings. Success is achieved when the three balls stay obediently at the three corners of the plate,” Tan Hairen explained. He admitted that his team had previously developed a “cocktail” solvent, which, while low in toxicity and biodegradable, met environmental requirements, hindered the crystallization process of perovskite, leading to poor adhesion of the perovskite film and making it prone to peeling off the substrate.

Xiao Ke, assistant professor at the Institute of Functional Materials and Intelligent Manufacturing at Nanjing University and co-corresponding author of the paper, told reporters that after two years of research, the team discovered the problem lay in the excessively rapid evaporation rate at the edges after the solution landed on the substrate. They proposed a “solvent-limited edge protection” strategy, introducing an additive to “protect” the edges, effectively slowing down the evaporation rate.

This is a schematic diagram showing the state of the perovskite solution after landing on the substrate at half a minute, two minutes, and eight minutes. The column on the right shows the evaporation state optimized by the “solvent-limited edge protection” strategy, resulting in a larger contact area and better quality between the perovskite film and the substrate.

Using this new technology, the team has produced a batch of commercially available modules, each 1.2 meters long and 0.6 meters wide. Xiao Ke explained that since 2024, these solar panels have passed various reliability tests, including those for damp heat environments, thermal cycling, and ultraviolet irradiation. They have received certifications and licenses from relevant testing agencies in Germany, the United States, and China. Over a year of outdoor testing in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, has also shown that the modules exhibit stable photoelectric conversion efficiency.

Tan Hairen stated that Nanjing University and Renshuo Solar have jointly submitted patent applications for related technologies and have obtained stable finished products through a 150-megawatt pilot production line. "While promoting large-size perovskite photovoltaic cells to the market, we will continue to increase our R&D efforts to further improve cell efficiency and stability," said Tan Hairen.