Hanwha Solutions institutional sector Qcells (hereafter Qcells) will take part as the lead institution in a government-led research and development project for the development and demonstration of perovskite tandem module (hereafter tandem module) technology, accelerating the commercialization of next-generation high-efficiency solar cells.
On the 29th, Qcells said it recently signed an agreement to carry out the research and development project titled "Development and demonstration of commercial-area perovskite/crystalline silicon tandem module technology." The project is part of an energy technology development program overseen by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment's Korea Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP).
Qcells will form a consortium with domestic industry, academia and research to conduct technology research related to core processes, modularization and reliability verification needed to realize commercial-area tandem modules. In the consortium, Qcells will participate as the lead research and development institution, and a total of nine institutions, including domestic corporations, research institutions and universities, will join as co-research and development institutions.
Starting in Apr. this year, the consortium plans to carry out three years of research and development with the goal of demonstrating commercial-area tandem modules of at least 1.7 m² with module efficiency of 28% or higher.
In particular, it plans to focus on developing tandem manufacturing technology suitable for mass production. Together with domestic research institutions, it will conduct outdoor demonstrations and business feasibility analyses to identify technical and business improvement factors for future market application. Through this, it aims to secure, in a timely manner, tandem module manufacturing technology that combines performance, reliability and cost-effectiveness. It also plans to strengthen cooperation with materials, parts and equipment corporations and contribute to building a domestic next-generation solar industry ecosystem.
Tandem cells can absorb light by wavelength band and are regarded as a next-generation technology that can dramatically increase power generation efficiency compared with conventional silicon cells. In fact, the theoretical efficiency limit of tandem cells is 44%, about 1.5 times higher than silicon cells (29%).
Moon Su-jin, head of the Qcells Pangyo R&D Center, said, "This project is an important turning point that will fully verify the commercial potential of next-generation tandem solar cells," adding, "Qcells will leverage its accumulated cell and module technology and mass-production capabilities to move up the commercialization timeline for tandem technology and help strengthen the global competitiveness of the domestic solar industry ecosystem."