SBIR Phase II: High-power, lightweight, and flexible tandem perovskite solar panels

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This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is an opportunity to develop new applications that depend on mobile power and ultimately lower the cost of residential, commercial, and utility-scale solar power. The project seeks to develop extremely lightweight, flexible, and efficient photovoltaic (PV) modules using perovskite absorbers. These efficient, lightweight, and flexible modules may enable long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles, supplemental charging for electric cars, and efficient solar power for commercial buildings with roofs too weak for typical solar panels. The anticipated advances may also lower installation, module, and total system costs. This SBIR Phase II project seeks to bring flexible and efficient perovskite technologies to the commercial production of solar power. The project seeks to develop a minimum viable product (MVP) that is targeted at solar-powered aerospace platforms and has the highest power density by weight (W/kg) of any commercial solar technology. Double-junction or tandem solar cells can reach far higher power conversion efficiencies than traditional single-junction cells (45% vs. 32%) by using two layers that absorb complementary parts of the solar spectrum. Such tandem cells have previously been too expensive for mainstream applications. This project uses perovskite materials to make tandem solar cells on flexible substrates at a lower cost than conventional cells by using high-throughput manufacturing and low cost materials. Through this project, the company will validate its first product line. It is expected that the efficient and lightweight technology may be able to be extended beyond airborne vehicles to other electric vehicles such as cars and trucks. Realizing these goals may pave the way for highly efficient and flexible solar cells at substantially lower costs than today’s leading solar technologies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.