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Roadmap for cost-effective, commercially-viable perovskite silicon tandems for the current and future PV market

Sofia SE, Wang H, Bruno A, Cruz-Campa JL, Buonassisi T, Peters IM (2020)

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Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2020

Journal

Book Volume: 4

Pages Range: 852-862

Journal Issue: 2

DOI: 10.1039/c9se00948e

Abstract

A techno-economic analysis of perovskite-silicon tandem solar modules is presented, outlining the most viable pathway for designing cost-effective, commercially viable tandems. We explore the cost-performance trade-off for silicon bottom cells in perovskite-silicon tandems, and evaluate the potential of using low-cost, lower-efficiency silicon bottom cells, on the basis of levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), compared to the higher-efficiency, higher-cost bottom cells that have been the primary focus of most perovskite-silicon tandem research efforts. We fabricate a cost-effective four-terminal silicon-perovskite tandem using a low-cost multicrystalline bottom cell and calculate the device LCOE. We then extend this analysis by modeling performance and LCOE of similar tandems instead using high-efficiency silicon bottom cells, enabling direct comparison of a low-cost and a high-efficiency tandem. Lastly parametric analyses are performed to more broadly examine the bottom-cell cost-performance trade-off. We show that low-cost silicon, even at the detriment of efficiency, is the more likely path to make perovskite-silicon tandems commercially viable and enable future reductions in LCOE, given both current and near-future silicon technology. We lay out a clear economic motivation for pursuing low-cost silicon bottom cells in perovskite-silicon tandems, showing that they can achieve a 15-20% relative LCOE reduction compared to the single-junction sub-cells. This is a 2-3 times greater relative LCOE reduction compared with using high-efficiency silicon. Furthermore, we show that the advantage of using low-cost silicon bottom cells is robust to and benefits from expected market trends, such as falling system costs and advanced, low-cost manufacturing. This work provides a clear pathway to cost-effective tandems, outlines the benefits for existing multicrystalline silicon manufacturers to investing in tandem development, and points out a clear mismatch between commercial viability and current research efforts.

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How to cite

APA:

Sofia, S.E., Wang, H., Bruno, A., Cruz-Campa, J.L., Buonassisi, T., & Peters, I.M. (2020). Roadmap for cost-effective, commercially-viable perovskite silicon tandems for the current and future PV market. Sustainable Energy & Fuels, 4(2), 852-862. https://doi.org/10.1039/c9se00948e

MLA:

Sofia, Sarah E., et al. "Roadmap for cost-effective, commercially-viable perovskite silicon tandems for the current and future PV market." Sustainable Energy & Fuels 4.2 (2020): 852-862.

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