Perovskite-Dye Solar Cells To Be Commercialized By Dyesol & Nesli DSC
Dyesol is partnering with the Turkish company Nesli DSC to work towards the commercialization of perovskite-dye solar cell PV technology, according to recent reports.
As per the terms of the partnership, the two companies will cooperate in three separate phases of commercialization and development — the prototype creation phase, the staged manufacture phrase, and (presuming everything goes well) the mass manufacture phase.
If this partnership progresses according to plans, mass manufacture is expected to begin in 2018. The first phase is expected to begin this year, with the creation of a prototype facility in Turkey (with a $1.9 million contract for equipment supply).
Dyesol has reportedly already begun work on the project, with its subsidiary Dyesol-Timo doing most of the work so far. Once this first phase is completed the partnership between Dyesol and Nesli DSC will then transition to a 50/50 one aimed mostly at implementation.
The plan is that by 2016 the partnership will see a staged manufacturing or pilot line facility put into service — ideally producing more than 20,000 square meters of the product. This phase will allow for the testing of the product, accreditation, and the optimization of the manufacturing process.
If this phase is successfully completed, mass manufacturing will begin (as stated before, ideally by 2018) — which will see “multi-million” square meters of solar cells produced annually.
There will reportedly be a meeting later this month between Dyesol, Nesli DSC, and the Development Bank of Turkey, with the aim of it being to negotiate an implementation plan for commercialization — business planning, possible government assistance/incentives, etc.
“Dyesol has been working closely with Turkish parties for a number of years and it is gratifying to see our common interests captured in an agreement,” noted Dyesol’s Director Gordon Thompson. “Further, it is very encouraging to have Turkish government interest to help bear the financial risk of development and commercialization.”
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Image Credit: Dyesol
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What are the efficiency specifications expected for this kind of panels ?
Just over 20% in lab conditions at the moment. Hard to say how real world efficiencies will be, due to two conflicting forces:
– Lab efficiencies are inevitably higher than those found in real world panels, simply because cost and ease of manufacturing take primacy over raw efficiency. Some of the best lab designs also suffer from fast degradation, so expect manufacturers to trade in some efficiency for longer lifespan.
– The rise of perovskite’s efficiency has been relentless, going from under 4% to over 20% in just 5-6 years. It could have risen a bit further by the time these cells actually enter production.
It also has to be stressed that current ‘fast scan’ test procedures tend to be significantly off when measuring perovskite due to the material’s hysteresis effect. So again, it’s very hard to translate reported values into actual efficiency.
Either way, cost will be more important than efficiency anyway. Perovskite promises very cheap and easy manufacturing, so it might still become a hit even if efficiency is disappointing. It’s too soon to speculate.
Oh, and let’s not forget that the odds of this being vaporware are still pretty high 😉
A very brave bet by the Turkish partner. This is a classic venture capital project: high risk, but high payoff if it works. I hope they won’t feel conned if it fails.