Perovskite Solar Cells and the Democratization of Manufacturing Notes

Introduction

• The speaker discusses the possibility of democratizing manufacturing through perovskite technology, potentially leading to greater energy sovereignty.

Historical Context of Solar Energy

• Building on the work of past innovators in energy storage and generation.
• Examples:
  • Electric car from 1912.
  • Solar panel on a car in 1960.
  • World Solar Challenge in 2017.
  • Charles Fritts putting a solar module on a building in 1883.

Manufacturing Factories

• The speaker expresses a desire to have a solar cell factory, potentially in Wales.
• Question: Could perovskite enable factories even in locations with limited investment?

Perovskite Growth

• Perovskites are a newish opportunity for growth, but with challenges like lifetime and toxicity.
• Perovskite manufacturing could be simpler than silicon, offering a different approach.

Energy Sovereignty

• Can perovskite unlock energy sovereignty, allowing any nation to build its own factories through democratized manufacturing?
• Includes mining and processing raw materials.
• Focus on full energy independence.

Four Aspects of Perovskite

• Process: Simple manufacturing processes for efficient modules.
• Profitability: Sustainability and circularity.
• Power Dynamics: Raw materials availability for onshoring or friend-shoring.
• Place: Expertise requirements for running a factory and local trading potential.

Process Details

• Solution process with printing possibilities.
• Lower energy intensity and temperatures (possibly under 100 degrees Celsius).
• Less material usage and waste with lower thickness.
• Avoidance of high-purity gases.

Profitability and Sustainability

• CapEx reduction.
• Unique opportunities for countries to get involved in manufacturing.
• Raw materials availability within proximity for different power dynamics.

Place and Local Manufacturing

• Expertise requirements for operating factories and potential for local trading and workforce development.
• Studies on lower-middle-income economies benefiting from local manufacturing.
• Realized cost of electricity meeting demand versus imported molecules.

Perovskite Factory in Africa

• Viability of building a perovskite factory in Africa, particularly Nigeria.
• Availability of materials in Nigeria, though glass availability might be a limiting factor.

Manufacturing Complexity

• How simple can the manufacturing process be to create a working solar module?
• Continuous printing inspired by Kodak's work in the 1930s.

Printing Perovskites

• Two categories: sheet to sheet on glass and roll to roll on plastic.

Sheet to Sheet

• Equipment, environment, and performance considerations.
• Screen printing with titanium dioxide, zirconium oxide, and carbon.
• Infiltration of liquid perovskite through the stack.
• A viable approach with up to 23% efficiency in lab settings.

Screen Printing Process

• Utilizing the existing expertise in the textiles industry.
• Textile manufacturers can deposit titanium, zirconia, and carbon.
• High-temperature process (around 400 degrees Celsius) requiring energy.

Module Interconnection

• Registration: Overlaying layers by altering the head to connect top and bottom contacts.
• Geometric field factor limited to about 90%.
• Carbon top contact comes down onto the bottom contact ITO.
• Complete module with tin oxide, perovskite, PDOP, and carbon.
• Modules achieve about 4-5% efficiency.

Conclusions

• Potential for simpler and scalable manufacturing through perovskites.
• Possibility of creating manufacturing supply chains within economies.
• Providing a platform for energy sovereignty.

Q&A

• Difference between glass and plastic substrates: continuous vs. batch processing.