An experiment shows that perovskite PV cells can recover a part of their capacity lost from degradation, which significantly improves their potential as a next-generation PV cell.

The experiment was carried out by EPFL (also known as Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne) in a laboratory, under conditions that were modeled after the general weather characteristics of the neighboring areas. It shows that the changes in temperature and irradiance has only a limited impact on the overall performance of the perovskite PV cell. It also finds that after a slight drop during the daytime, the conversion rate of the PV cell can return to the previous levels overnight.

To measure the degradations of the perovskite PV cells, Wolfgang Tress, a researcher at EPFL, points out that his research team has developed a number of official criteria. This includes factors like stabilized power, which is being used as a standard tool for the measurement of the cells’ power-conversion efficiency, according to Tress.

The finding as a whole has alleviated the industry’s current concerns about the endurance of perovskite PV cells. In the past, experiments have showed that the performances of perovskite PV cells are susceptible to the influences of light, water, and heat.

Perovoskite PV cells have generally been regarded as a promising next-generation PV cell technology, thanks to its high conversion rate and low materials cost, as well as its simple production methods.

(Collaborative media: TechNews, first photo courtesy of EPELP)