An emerging solar photovoltaic technology poised to revolutionise energy generation

Imagine a world with cheap, abundant solar power; where we roll off spools of inexpensive and even coloured, high-performance solar panels like newsprint. Such prospects would drive expansive carbon-free electrification, which is necessary for achieving critical emission targets. High-performance, lightweight and flexible solar panels will also enable new solutions to power electric vehicles, aerial communication vehicles and satellites. Moreover, these innovations would enable electricity to reach the 1.3 billion people around the world who currently cannot access such resources. Our current solar PV technologies won't lead us to this transformed energy future: we will soon hit efficiency and cost limits. This talk will cover how a recently discovered family of halide perovskite materials has the potential to realize this exciting future. Sunlight-to-electricity power-conversion efficiencies of perovskite solar cells have moved from 3% in 2012 to >25% in 2020, rivalling the market-leading silicon solar panels that we see on rooftops (26%).