Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has opened a dedicated laboratory in Freiburg, Germany, to scale up perovskite-silicon tandem cell designs to large wafer sizes using industry standard processes.
Fraunhofer ISE has opened a new laboratory in Freiburg, Germany, to bring perovskite-silicon tandem PV closer to industrial production.
The institute has already exceeded 33% efficiency on a laboratory scale by using a hybrid production route that combines vacuum and wet chemical deposition.
The new Pero-Si-SCALE lab extends that work by scaling the technology to 210mm x 210mm wafer sizes using industry-standard high-throughput processes. The aim is to give German and European PV manufacturers access to independent R&D infrastructure for perovskite-silicon tandem cells and modules.
Adding a perovskite layer just 500 nanometers thick to a conventional silicon cell increases the theoretical efficiency limit from 29.4% to 43.3%. Fraunhofer ISE said the hybrid route remains compatible with standard textured silicon cells already in industrial use, achieving higher energy yield from completed tandem modules.
Prof. Dr. Stefan Glunz, head of the photovoltaics department at Fraunhofer ISE, said tandem solar cells are the key to achieving higher efficiency, allowing more solar energy in a smaller area with less material use. “Solar photovoltaics are far from being ‘fully explored,’” he said.
The Pero-Si-SCALE builds on Fraunhofer ISE’s Photovoltaic Technology Evaluation Center (PV-TEC), a 20-year-old industry-focused silicon PV platform. PV-TEC will supply optimized silicon bottom cells to the new laboratory and maintain continuity with current production processes, Priv.-Doz said. Dr. Ralf Preu, also head of the Photovoltaic Energy department.
Von Ardenne GmbH, whose vacuum coating systems are installed in the laboratory, said its equipment will be used in the new facility.
Fraunhofer ISE director Andreas Bett said that funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) has enabled Fraunhofer ISE to maintain an internationally competitive research position that supports local industrial partners.
Perovskite-silicon tandem cells have made rapid progress in efficiency. Fraunhofer ISE recently recorded 30.6% for a perovskite-silicon tandem built on an industry-standard tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) bottom cell, while JinkoSolar pushed the benchmark to 34.76% using n-type TOPCon wafers.
The opening of Pero-Si-SCALE also aligns with broader European manufacturing ambitions – a joint report from SolarPower Europe and Fraunhofer ISE shows that targeted policy intervention is essential to close the cost gap with Chinese producers and reach the European Union’s annual production target of 30 GW by 2030. At the research infrastructure level, the EU-funded Laperitivo project, which also includes Fraunhofer ISE, is separately promoting pilot production of large perovskite modules until February. 2028.
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