IIT Roorkee team develops a low-cost alternative to silicon solar cells

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee have developed high-quality, low-cost, and efficient perovskite solar cells. Perovskite solar cells, as the name suggests, are solar cells that include a perovskite-structured compound.

Developed by a team from the Department of Physics and led by Prof Soumitra Satapathi, these cells have demonstrated a stabilized power conversion efficiency of 17.05%. As per the team, this is the highest reported power conversion efficiency (PCE) for quasi-two-dimensional perovskite.

 The finding of this research will help in the development of high-efficiency perovskite solar cells and offer long-term operational stability. In the last few years, these cells have gained attention for their optoelectronic properties, structural diversity, and excellent ambient stability. They have been termed the next generation of photovoltaic technology as they offer high PCE, are easier to manufacture, and are inexpensive. 

Talking about the significance of Perovskite Solar Cells, Prof. Satapathi, said, “Perovskite solar cells have demonstrated competitive power conversion efficiencies with potential for higher performance, but their stability is limited compared to leading alternatives. Our main aim is to optimize the efficiency and to reduce the cost of manufacturing for Perovskite solar Cells as much as possible.” He further added that the cells developed by his team can be used as an alternative to silicon solar cells. He also mentioned that this is the first prototype solar cell exclusively built in IIT Roorkee.

“There is a growing demand worldwide for the transition towards a carbon-neutral economy. During the last decade, PSCs have emerged as a potential low-cost photovoltaics technology. The PSCs developed at IIT Roorkee are an important step towards developing efficient and stable solar cells,” Prof. K. K. Pant, director of IIT Roorkee said