Certified high-efficiency "large-area" perovskite solar module for Fresnel lens-based concentrated photovoltaics

Anurag Roy; Bin Ding; Maria Khalid; Mussad Alzahrani; Yong Ding; Asif A Tahir; Senthilarasu Sundaram; Sachin Kinge; Abdullah M Asiri; Andre Slonopas; Paul J Dyson; Mohammad Khaja Nazeeruddin; Tapas K Mallick

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.106079

Certified high-efficiency "large-area" perovskite solar module for Fresnel lens-based concentrated photovoltaics

iScience. 2023 Feb 2;26(3):106079. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106079. eCollection 2023 Mar 17.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Solar Energy Resaerch Group, Environment and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK.
² Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Valais Wallis, 1951 Sion, Switzerland.
³ Mechanical and Energy Engineering Department, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 34212, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Alternate Electrical Power System with Renewable Energy Sources, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, People's Republic of China.
⁵ Cybersecurity and Systems Engineering, School of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, Edinburgh Napier University, Merchiston Campus, Edinburgh EH10 5DT, UK.
⁶ Toyota Motor Europe, Materials Engineering Division, Hoge Wei 33, Zaventem 1820, Belgium.
⁷ Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials Research (CEAMR), King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Johns Hopkins University, Whiting School of Engineering, 3400 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.

Abstract

The future of energy generation is well in tune with the critical needs of the global economy, leading to more green innovations and emissions-abatement technologies. Introducing concentrated photovoltaics (CPVs) is one of the most promising technologies owing to its high photo-conversion efficiency. Although most researchers use silicon and cadmium telluride for CPV, we investigate the potential in nascent technologies, such as perovskite solar cell (PSC). This work constitutes a preliminary investigation into a "large-area" PSC module under a Fresnel lens (FL) with a "refractive optical concentrator-silicon-on-glass" base to minimize the PV performance and scalability trade-off concerning the PSCs. The FL-PSC system measured the solar current-voltage characteristics in variable lens-to-cell distances and illuminations. The PSC module temperature was systematically studied using the COMSOL transient heat transfer mechanism. The FL-based technique for "large-area" PSC architectures is a promising technology that further facilitates the potential for commercialization.

Keywords: Energy materials; Energy systems; Optical property.