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Academia Sinica President James C. Liao announced on January 20^th that a team of leading Taiwanese scholars from Academia Sinica, Ming Chi University of Technology, National Cheng Kung University, and National Tsing Hua University have developed next-generation solar cells with a light-to-electricity conversion efficiency exceeding 31%. This milestone, achieved in under two years, represents an over 30% improvement over the latest commercially available solar cells and a nearly 50% improvement over earlier solar devices. This breakthrough confirms Taiwan's ability to compete internationally in solar cell technology as well as generate green electricity without increasing demands on land usage.

Faced with the threat of climate change, developing zero- or low-carbon energy is crucial to achieve global net-zero emission targets. Solar energy, with its advantages of being renewable, carbon-free, and sustainable, is a key pillar of Taiwan's energy transition. Despite Taiwan's abundant sunlight, expanding solar power remains a challenge due to limited land availability. Enhancing the light-to-electricity conversion efficiency of solar cells is a core strategy to address this limitation, enabling more power generation per unit of land area.

Commercially available silicon-based solar cells generally achieve conversion efficiencies of around 22-24% and struggle to surpass 30%. As such, advances in solar cell technology have to come from multi-junction or tandem designs. Dr. Chih-Wei Chu, a researcher at Academia Sinica’s Research Center for Critical Issues (RCCI), stated that "two years ago, under President Liao's guidance, we assembled a team of experts from within and outside our institute to focus on tandem perovskite/silicon solar cells. The aim was to meet Taiwan's growing demand for low-carbon energy with higher-efficiency solar cells."

Prof. Tzu-Chien Wei, jointly appointed by National Tsing Hua University's Department of Chemical Engineering and Academia Sinica, noted that " perovskite solar cells are a promising next-generation technology due to the general availability of the materials, low production costs, high efficiency, and recyclability." Perovskite thin films have versatile applications and can be integrated with silicon-based solar cells to form tandem structures, further enhancing light-to-electricity conversion efficiency.

Surpassing the Limits of Traditional Solar Cells

Traditional silicon-based solar modules can only absorb specific wavelengths of sunlight, limiting their conversion efficiency. Tandem solar cells use perovskite layers to absorb additional wavelengths that silicon cannot, boosting overall efficiency. The research team overcame challenges with the interlayer technology, successfully stacking perovskite films onto silicon cells while minimizing interface loss. They developed small-area, two-terminal devices with a record-high efficiency of 31.5%.

Dr. Tzung-Fang Guo from the research team explained that, " although the current products are still small-area devices, this milestone demonstrates Taiwan’s capability in independent R&D and manufacturing of tandem solar cell technology. Our processes also show strong potential for commercial application." The team plans to further optimize the production process, scale up the device sizes, improve stability, and develop manufacturing methods suitable for mass production. Collaboration with domestic academic and industrial partners will continue to advance high-efficiency solar power installations.

Academia Sinica's Five Net-Zero “Arrows”

In addition to high efficiency solar cells, Academia Sinica’s Five Net-Zero “Arrows” of breakthrough clean energy research include methane pyrolysis to power (MPTP), deep-well geothermal energy, ocean-current energy, and biomass carbon sinks. Dr. Chau-Hwang Lee, Director of the Research Center for Critical Issues, remarked that "Academia Sinica translates fundamental research into real-world applications, integrating national expertise through collaboration and early-stage discussions with industry leaders. Our ultimate goal is putting technology into practice."

Supported by the Executive Yuan’s policy budget, Academia Sinica has established comprehensive facilities for tandem solar cell measurement and fabrication at its Southern Taiwan campus near the High-Speed Rail Station in Tainan. These facilities are open to academia and industry, fostering collaboration and advancing Taiwan’s global competitiveness in solar technology. Academia Sinica remains committed to leveraging its robust research foundation and promoting innovation to contribute to humanity’s sustainable future with its Five Arrow strategy for achieving Taiwan’s net-zero targets.