{"id":290,"date":"2025-04-28T06:37:01","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T06:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aykasolar.com.au\/news\/?p=290"},"modified":"2025-04-28T06:42:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T06:42:06","slug":"aussie-breakthrough-sets-new-world-record-for-solar-cell-efficiency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aykasolar.com.au\/news\/aussie-breakthrough-sets-new-world-record-for-solar-cell-efficiency\/","title":{"rendered":"Aussie Breakthrough Sets New World Record for Solar Cell Efficiency"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Brisbane, QLD \u2014<\/strong> Researchers at the University of Queensland (UQ) have set a new world record in solar technology, achieving a certified solar cell efficiency of 16.65 %<\/strong> using tin halide perovskite (THP) materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Led by Professor Lianzhou Wang<\/strong>, the breakthrough was achieved by a team from UQ\u2019s School of Chemical Engineering<\/strong> and the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology<\/strong>. The result surpasses the previous best for THP solar cells by nearly a whole percentage point \u2014 a significant leap in a field where progress is typically slow and incremental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt might not seem like much, but this is a giant leap in a field that is renowned for delicate and incremental progress,\u201d said Professor Wang. \u201cThe reading is in line with many silicon-based solar cells currently on the market but with the potential to be cheaper and quicker to manufacture. We are thrilled with the record and proud to be advancing cost-effective renewable energy solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not the first time Professor Wang\u2019s lab has made headlines. Five years ago, the same group set a global benchmark for power conversion efficiency using quantum dot technology<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Dongxu He<\/strong>, a member of the research team, noted that many of the insights and techniques developed in their 2020 quantum dot research informed their success with THP thin-film solar cells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is great commercial potential in THP solar cells because perovskite devices are more sustainable to produce than silicon-based solar cells,\u201d Dr He said. \u201cThe benefit of THPs is that we\u2019re working with eco-friendly tin rather than the toxic lead used in most perovskite solar cells, making them safer for use around the home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historically, THP solar cells have faced efficiency issues due to the low quality of fast-crystalline thin films used in their manufacture. However, Dr Peng Chen<\/strong> explained that the team overcame this challenge by adding caesium ions<\/strong> to enhance the microstructure and minimise defects in the THP layer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis allowed us to reach a record level of efficiency while still meeting strict environmental standards,\u201d Dr Chen said. \u201cI believe we\u2019ve found a formula that will only continue to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Wang welcomed competition from other researchers in the field, saying that each new advance contributes to better and more sustainable solar technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With greater efficiency and flexibility, THP solar cells could soon become a viable choice for residential solar systems \u2014 both outdoor and indoor<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeyond solar panels, the techniques we\u2019ve developed could also be applied to other high-performance perovskite-based devices such as lasers, photodetectors, and transistors<\/strong>,\u201d Professor Wang added. \u201cThere\u2019s even potential for lightweight THP cells to power electric aircraft<\/strong> \u2014 the sky is the limit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brisbane, QLD \u2014 Researchers at the University of Queensland (UQ) have set a new world record in solar technology, achieving a certified solar cell efficiency of 16.65 % using tin… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aykasolar.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aykasolar.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aykasolar.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aykasolar.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aykasolar.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aykasolar.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":292,"href":"https:\/\/aykasolar.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290\/revisions\/292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aykasolar.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aykasolar.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aykasolar.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aykasolar.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}