Oxford spin-out in solar breakthrough

AN OXFORD University spin-out is claiming a solar panel breakthrough allowing it to convert 25pc of ambient sunlight into electricity.

Oxford PV says its panels will allow households and businesses to generate up to 20pc more power from panels on their roofs or other solar installations.

If the technology is rolled out more widely, it would significantly increase the amount of energy produced per square foot of panel.

Solar has already emerged as one of the fastest-growing forms of renewable energy, with installations generating about 7pc of the UK’S electricity between July and September last year.

Chris Case, chief technology officer at Oxford PV, said: “Solar is currently among the most cost-effective and sustainable energy sources. Our continuous advancements in technology will further enhance module efficiency – producing more electricity from the same area – and extending their use to all market sectors from residential, commercial through to utility scale.”

Oxford PV is a leader in the development of perovskite-on-silicon solar cells, which have a theoretical maximum efficiency of over 43pc, compared to less than 30pc for silicon solar cells.

Solar panels use silicon to absorb photons from the sun and turn their energy into electricity.

However, silicon cannot catch photons of some wavelengths and this limits their efficiency to a theoretical maximum of 29pc.

Oxford PV’S technology adds layers of perovskite, a mineral that absorbs the wavelengths missed by silicon alone. This raises efficiency to a theoretical maximum of 43pc. David Ward, chief executive officer at Oxford PV, said: “This is the first step in a transformative 2024, as we begin to deliver market-ready panels from our factory in Germany and continue our global search for a new high-volume manufacturing site which will enable us to bring our technology into the mainstream.”

Oxford PV was established in 2010, and focuses exclusively on developing and commercialising a perovskite-based solar technology.

A key challenge is that perovskite can be unstable and so degrades in use, meaning it has to be stabilised for longterm applications.

An Oxford PV spokesman said a research and development site in Oxford and an integrated production line near Berlin enabled the accelerated transfer of its technology into industrial-scale perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cell manufacturing.