Tiny grooves re-shape future of solar cell manufacturing

New type of back-contact solar cell design, using a perovskite material and tiny grooves embossed into plastic film, will enable scalable, low-cost manufacturing.

The elimination of expensive and scarce materials, such as indium, means the technology is both sustainable and affordable.

The lightweight, flexible solar films can be used on surfaces that could not normally stand the weight of solar panels creating broader accessibility to solar power, particularly in developing countries.

Dr Jessica Walker , I14 beamline scientist at Diamond Light Source Ltd. said: “The techniques and resolution offered by I14 are ideally suited to help answer scientific questions that remain around perovskite based solar cell materials. It is exciting to see how our capabilities have contributed to both academic and industrial research, and culminated in such a promising development for the field of energy materials, as well as a direct and tangible application with high potential for impact.” Centres of excellence The University 's cross-faculty research centres harness our interdisciplinary expertise to solve the world's most pressing challenges..