Perovskite solar cells. Major new breakthrough!

[@marcowen1506]

This video had some really good explanations of some very difficult concepts. Well done. I'm doing a PhD. in perovskites but I missed this paper. It certainly looks interesting I'll have to read it. This is a great example of why us scientists need exposure to non specialists like you: not only do you show us how to explain ourselves better, you spot things that we miss.

[@kimwarburton8490]

the other issue with academia, you guys n gals are often too busy with your own field and dont hear about things from related or non-related fields which could provide new insights. This is one reason why my nursing degree included inter-disciplinary work (as a very simple example) It is why Leonardo was such a great thinker/inventor, he had so many different skillsets and interests and he brought together ideas from each and combined them. It's why archaeologists couldnt figure out how ancient peoples moved the easter island statues -they literally walked, as the locals' 'myths' had said and told the archaeologists and dismissed by the specialists. Think about how you 'walk' furniture about, to move it between rooms, rocking it from side-to-side, same process. Archaeologists are the worst for this inability to look outside their own group of experts i believe It's really good that you recognise these issues early in your career, it'll keep you open to opportunities others will ignore cos it wasnt in the syllabus

[@dann5480]

You should burn your degree and start selling hot dogs

[@9FBI6]

hey marc, mind sharing your email.. i am an aspirant for pervoskites research

[@nanadwumah9096]

@marcowen1506 how can I contact you please? I’m also about to begin my PhD in perovskites

[@mojoneko8303]

I'm a sailor and for years I have been hoping technology could eventually develop a Photo Voltaic material that was light, flexible and tough enough to use in the construction of sails for my boat. The surface area of my sails is huge, far more than my deck. Ideally the material would be able to absorb sunlight from both sides of the sail. Probably isn't going to happen any time soon if ever but it would be a huge boon to the sailing community especially those of us that like to go off grid for months at a time. It would give a whole new meaning to the term "Solar Sail".. 🙂 Thanks for the video!

[@tzenophile]

Did you consider putting thinfilm PV on wingsails? then too much flexibility would not be a problem.

[@JoeyBlogs007]

The tech already exists. The question is cost.

[@cashandraven2369]

Look into hydrogen on boats as well, I've seen many vidoes of people able to run their base electronics with just a little bit of solar in conjunction with a hydro power prop.

[@johnsherman7289]

Sails are solar in the sense that wind is created by heat from the sun.

[@tzenophile]

@@johnsherman7289 Language is solar in the sense that it would not exist without the sun. Shall I go on?

[@KeatrithAmakiir]

I've been a PV installer/technician for 11 years, this new tech will absolutely change the game forever! The peak efficiency of these new panels will really improve design options for those without a large amount of usable roof space. When I began working in this industry a 10kW array would be around 50-55 panels and cost over $80,000(Canadian), but now even still using poly-crystalline silicon panels of the same size (60-cell) we can hit 10kW with 28-32 panels, which opened up so many options for people and perovskite will likely be the next big jump in that this decade (imo)

[@robertb6889]

I did research with thin film solar when perovskites were just getting started. The biggest problem I see with them is highly-soluble lead. “Ammonium Lead-halide perovskites” are the commonly references perovskite, and with the slightest quantity of water the lead dissolves out as lead or other lead halides. This is highly mobile in water, so any damage to these panels or improper disposal risks significant environmental contamination. Similarly, larger quantities of lead halides are used in the manufacture and will end up in the waste. Sloppy environmental practices at the manufacturing sites or sloppy practices at the waste-disposal site could end up with lead in the atmosphere or the soil, causing massive ecological damage. They will need huge environmental protection at every step of the journey. Lead in solder for traditional solar can be an issue but it has alternatives and it is in a metallic phase so it weathers less easily. The solder is also an equal issue between these panels. CdTe, the most mature thin-film solar material is likewise burdened by the carcinogenic and toxic cadmium, but it’s also reacted in a form where it will dissolve and weather only very slowly. I cannot stress how instantly water will dissolve the lead out of this material. The most critical development to me would be finding s good replacement for lead that is non-toxic and available in adequate quantities.

[@yachalupson]

I don't have the background of research on the topic, but this was one of the first questions that came to mind watching this. Great to see you've raised it; concerned to hear of the apparent mobility!

[@robertb6889]

@@yachalupson the current solution is encapsulation, and it is small quantities, but if they break you have a significant hazard, or if discarded.

[@ccdimage]

Looking at the layers I see a Copper(I) thiocyanate layer. My understanding from google indicates this material is also toxic. The rain from my roof (where I would install a solar panel) goes directly to the storm water system, that being a stream to a river to the ocean untreated. So less than ideal to be made from something toxic.

[@thexperimenter88]

I have read that perovskites contain very little lead

[@ZeroInDaHouse]

It does not matter how little lead a single panel contains. On an industrial scale that little becomes a lot especially when this tech is supposed to be used everywhere and cover any surface possible that gets sunshine. Mining of lead is bad, disposing of lead is bad and not to mention accidents that happen with lead are very bad. As @Robert B ​mentions, we need to find alternatives of Perovskite crystals that do not contain these toxic elements.

[@Bobucles]

A quick refresher on band gap: The PV band gap will absorb a particular amount of photon energy(photon energy =color). Photons with less energy are not captured and thus wasted. Photons with more energy are captured, but the excess energy is also wasted. Our yellow sun has a particular sweet spot given these limitations on a simple PV cell. Ideally you would want to both capture all photons, and also capture the full energy of each photon. Doing so requires multiple band gaps, capturing multiple colors, and squeezing the efficiency out of each color. Separating solar colors is trivial using a high school prism(but is a bit more challenging on the nano scale), so the hard part is setting up a wide variety of PV junctions to min/max the energy capture.

[@rajeshupadhyay5683]

Well said! I am also here to learn how to invest after listening to a lady on tv talk about the importance of investing and how she made 7 figure in 3 month, somehow the video taught me nothing and left me even more confused, I'm a newbie and I'm open to ideas on how to invest for retirement

[@lezliewhicker8450]

@@rajeshupadhyay5683 lookup Priscilla Dearmin-Turner, this is her name online, she's now our real investment prodigy since the crash and have help me recovered my loses

[@alhajishehu7037]

Financial management is a crucial topic that most tend to shy away from, and ends up haunting them in the near future

[@davidhudson3001]

Investment now will be wise but the truth is investing on your own will be a high risk. I think it will be best to get a professional👌

[@jewellwalker9808]

@@lezliewhicker8450 i just lookup her name online and found her qualifications on FINRA and SEC, she seems really solid. I leave her a mail on her webpage🙏

[@shawnmulberry774]

You are so very good at what you do. Thanks!

[@JustHaveaThink]

Thanks Shawn. I appreciate that!

[@Fastidious1970]

Technological breakthroiughs, not covered by general media, are brilliantly covered by yourself and this channel. I've gone back and watched every video you've created and I'd love to see you go back and revisit those advances and update me/us on what's happened since. You're an inspiring communicator and I appreciate and love watching your videos. Thank you :~)

[@thomasbeach5458]

Wow! A really good update on solar. It is really nice to have you revisit and update what is happening in the world. The world is changing so fast it is hard to keep up. It's like they had solar when I was a kid in the 60s but nobody was concerned about improving on it. Now those improvements will help to save the planet and the living things on the planet.

[@TheLosamatic]

Hhhmm now I wonder how could have solar power been left to languish only really moving forward in space usage? Couldn’t possibly be that most costly industry that man has created, y’all know the one, yes that one that is so costly it needs billions of dollars a year in subsidies!

[@thomasbeach5458]

@@TheLosamatic The oil companies are raking in billions on top of billions because soon there will be such an oil glut that they won't be able to give it away. Thanks to solar and other renewables. I just wonder when the subsidies will end?

[@julianharley9428]

I did a report on this when I was a freshman in College about 9 years ago, great to see them continue the process. Also, I can finally understand what I was looking at all those years ago.

[@georgeorwell7291]

I think its great to "revisit" some technologies, because most is awesome but never reaches mass production. Science is much further than production technology

[@pablodelsegundo9502]

Yep. The get to a proven product/process, file a patent, then sit on it. Very frustrating.

[@BrianE_PhD]

@@pablodelsegundo9502 not in the case of PSCs. The research on PSCs, while being revisited here, has been a growing field for nanotechnology research. OxfordPV is currently producing the first Perovskite-silicon tandem cells and in the next 5 years there will be perovskite only cells on the market

[@dustinherk8124]

and sometimes the hype is nothing but hype. like gravity batteries. or those solar plants that use mirrors to reflect to one single focal point. both of those technologies have now failed drastically. the gravity battery failed because the blocks used are concrete, and VERY HEAVY on co2 to produce, and then the fact the blocks themselves rapidly degrade, when being repeatedly stacked and unstacked, and with winds only as high as 5mph do not line up properly and further increase degrading concrete. the mirror solar array, simply is far too costly to operate. the protoype in Cali that ran for 6 years, underperformed its estimated production capacity, and was a billion/year hemorage to operate for production of only 4mw/day. the area the plant took up could be replaced with standard 24v solar arrays and would yield 2.2x as much power, with significantly less operation overhang costs.

[@RobotoForgoto]

Like the "Dust Buster". Genius!

[@robertb6889]

Or they technology has fundamental flaws that will prevent manufacture and sales long term. Perovskites suffer most from 1. Lifetime and 2. Highly soluble, highly toxic lead.

[@rlsearch1]

I just love Davedays, I mean Sundays 😂👍 I so look forward to seeing what wonders you have on offer each Sunday. Thank you for another well researched and presented video, explaining a technological wonder that even I can get my wee head around 👍😊keep up the great work Dave and have a wonderful week 👌😊

[@TimeFlies-d8b]

Main issues with perovskite solar cells: 1- poor operational stability 2- toxicity because they contain lead 3- poor performance when scaled up to large areas It's an extremely sensitive material good for space applications if you ask me

[@CornMCMais]

Its very little amounts of lead which can be seperated in recycling, enclosed in the material so thats not a problem I suppose

[@CornMCMais]

Really think they will be useful more broadbandly

[@movax20h]

@@CornMCMais it has way too much lead still to be considered safe to be used in mass. It will leak to environment. Even 1 milligramm per panel would be too much.

[@CornMCMais]

@@movax20h It's all cristalline material which can be enclosed how is it supposed to leak? People are putting lead sheets on their roofs lol

[@AlRoderick]

Lead is only really a problem if you eat it. It was a worthy move to get it out of paint because paint chips and introduces itself into soil, it comes in liquid form and so there's always runoff and spills. Nobody's going to be chewing on your roof.

[@JosefMPjess]

Dave, finally it is a real pleasure to listen how you talk. I asked you a few times to slow down. Perhaps you saw my comments, or there is another reason for you to talk at a comfortable speed. Whatever it is, thank you! I have truly valued what you say. Now I can enjoy that, too…

[@richardmcdonald7565]

I am really impressed at the big progress and huge efforts which have gone into refining Perovskites.... since your first program about them. Thanks for this continuing source of what I consider vital information... and in a way, something to really look forward to, each week... A bright spot in my Sundays... :-) Your programs help me focus, and give me a great deal of hope, and I honor and appreciate your efforts to educate, as well as throw in some really fun humor. You are an amazing guy... doing an amazing thing ! Thank YOU very much, Dave. :-)

[@b_dawg_17]

I really like how these videos are both exciting and realistic. I'd love to see this channel come up with a scale for how far along each technology is in its path to widespread use. In the beginning of these videos I usually have to listen carefully to figure out if the tech is in R&D, an early commercial stage, or just purely theoretical. If we could have a visual scale for reference, I think that'd give us a really good understanding of where the tech previously was, and what this breakthrough really means for the industry. Keep up the good work! I love learning about new tech and seeing where the cutting edge really is!

[@zacrintoul]

That is a great idea. I concur whole heatedly.

[@andrecook4268]

Heh, just finished my PhD thesis on provs. I will say there's been lots of groups with promising long life cells, and lots of accelerated testing happening. These new cells do seem the best in term of longevity. But every group thinks *their* way of stress testing is the best, and better than the industry standard stress tests.

[@kevinedwards7206]

my thesis in high school was on "Solar Energy".. may, 1980. nice to see someone is doing something about it. finally.

[@hynjus001]

Geez the quality of your videos has skyrocketed over the past few years. Subscribed.

[@DrJaxonsElixirOfLife]

Nice one Dave. I was so pleased to see the word Perovskite in your title as it's something that I have been discussing with various people of late who were definitely of the opinion that it was just another pipe dream. Can't wait to show them this video! Thanx...

[@MicahBratt]

Cool! Hopefully there’s many more breakthroughs that improve solar. It will be really nice to have no exhaust vehicles eventually

[@scottball6431]

Always love it when I see a new video from you

[@michasosnowski5918]

I think perovskite cells would revolutionize the future of photovoltaics. One company in Poland started to produce electronic price cards with perovskite cells, that can charge the card from shop day lights, since perovskite can do that pretty good. Google cloud already partnered with the company - Saule Technologies. Good to hear that technology is developed in other parts of the world. I am excited about that.

[@valdisandersons129]

Interestingly enough, Saule is Latvian for Sun. Curious why a Polish company chose the Latvian name of Sun in their company's name.

[@inprogs]

@@valdisandersons129 Did it occur to you it is not only Latvian that are owning Baltic gods and pagan rituals ? yeah... Saule can be also goddess of sun in that context for Poles, so ... Saules meita my friend with you

[@mespositobg]

Just thanks for your great work. 🤗

[@Kevin_Street]

Thank you for this video! I remember the first one you did on Perovskites, and it's really impressive how clearly you explained the theory behind them. I think I get it now. Hopefully this particular Perovskite cell will reach mass production. The sooner it happens, the sooner we'll see real cells out in the wild and find out how accurate the testing is. Also it would be amazing to see large areas covered by the thin films, like the canals in your video.

[@robertb6889]

I kind of hope they don’t until their soluble lead problem is fixed. Ramping the lead-versions could be an environmental catastrophe at solar farms and at manufacturing sites.

[@bmunday]

@@robertb6889 interesting. got links?

[@tommadigan1783]

Very insightful as always, thank you. While improving solar collection processes is important, as you know, the most important problem to solve is the energy storage system. That is the biggest block to preventing renewables from growing to a viable global addition to our energy requirements

[@gregbailey45]

Not really, it is mainly apathy from politicians and the public, mainly due to lobbying by fossil fuel interests casting doubt on global warming that is slowing or preventing implementation of readily available and understood tech like pumped hydro.

[@artboymoy]

Glad to see this getting closer to being something that can help widen the capture of solar and not just by panel. Skyscraper windows, shingles, solar driveways...

[@vampy8723]

Versatility of installation solar's greatest strength.

[@Techmagus76]

well take out the driveways that never really worked. All real life testing done showed an extrem quick destruction as the mechanical stress is far to high.

[@thomasputko1080]

somehow jhat is very silent on the subject of polish company Saule Tech which manufactures thin film perovskite cells since may of 2021... few weeks ago Timmermans was wvisiting the factory. It is strange that Dave is so quiet about it since Olga Malinkiewicz, polish phycist is a potential nominee to Noble Prize in physics... I guess he is more about promises rather than existing solutions - it draws more views probably.

[@faustinpippin9208]

we have more then enough space on roofs, and solar driveways are just supid af...

[@glennmartin6492]

@@faustinpippin9208 If anything suspend the PV's over the driveway and shade the car.

[@grahamfoulkes7321]

Again and again Dave's excellent presentation and well researched subjects continue to inspire and motivate more followers, subscribers and hopefully, financial supporters. I, myself, intend to make a modest contribution to keep this channel healthy and ad free. So much of the content on KZbin is now commercialized to the point of being a turn off. I understand that it is not a simple task to produce good quality material and I fully support that the creator should be compensated for their time and talents, but not to the point of it being the sole reason for doing it. JHaT is a refreshing antidote to so much hype, trash and mis-information that is increasingly offered up as entertainment, knowledge etc. presumably to attract followers and increase the number of `hits` therefore more ad. exposure. Hats off to Dave!

[@armandos.rodriguez6608]

Your a master at breaking it all down,for the average person to absorb,and hopefully to inspire young people to get into the exciting world of future innovation through engineering and physics.Hope your very prosperous,your a great doctor of physics !!!!!!!!

[@frederickwelsh]

Your explanation is outstanding.

[@marcusklaas4088]

Awesome episode. You did a great job of explaining the band gap thing and why perovskites are so promising. Really hope that multi-junction panels will pick up in economic viability soon!

[@JustHaveaThink]

Cheers Marcus :-)

[@coreyeaston6823]

I love all this cutting edge technology. Its very informative. Have you considered adding a smaller series of videos where you can add some of these technologies into a home? See is one thing, experiencing is another. Anyway, great work.

[@craigking391]

I remember reading about multi junction solar back in the early 2000s. This idea isn't new, but if the perovskites lower the cost and increase durability that that is indeed a game changer.

[@leewanbonvin4294]

I work for the EPFL, I am an engineer and one of the Dr. there did his PhD on this techology. We take a very different approche with the perovskite. I dont know what I am alowed to say or not without be in any trouble but we actualy working on a solution for industrial quantity. I know for a fact that the company are rushing this to make sure they are the first to make it out. I hope we are the first one ;) we can maybe make history on this

[@RayMrRobert]

Thank you for keeping us hopeful.

[@B.Runnin]

Great video! Just a small thing : perovskite was actually discovered by Gustav Rose but he named it after Perovski!

[@sb6489]

Really well explained. Just one slight gripe, you seemed to imply that perovskites have stayed at longevities of a few minutes until just now, but great progress has been made by many researchers over the last 10 years. The metrology and extrapolation techniques in the research you reported is the big step here. Great report as usual, thanks again.

[@robertb6889]

Early research perovskite cells lasted minutes to hours under illumination and days to weeks stored under an inert environment. What you say is false. Source: I actually have made as couple lab-scale perovskite solar cells in the early days of perovskites in the mid 2010’s.

[@chikaokolo4929]

Excellent explanation of band gaps. Thanks.

[@stickynorth]

I do hope that this makes it to market in a large way some day. All solar tech is needed right now to combat climate change... All hands on deck or all panels to the sun, as it were!

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

Nuclear is the answer. Safe, clean, always on, thus better than 'renewables'

[@MarkPryor1]

You are a total nerd and I fully appreciate it. Keep up the great content.

[@rmar127]

If the thin film can be tuned to capture energy in the infra red bandwidth then we are on a winner. Here in Queensland Australia the silicone solar panels usually operate at less than peak performance due to the excessive amount of heat they endure. If they could be retrofitted with a thin layer front and back that converts a portion of that heat energy into electrons then it would boost power output of the silicon cells by reducing their temperature. Furthermore, roof surfaces can remain very hot hours after sundown. If some of this heat can be converted to electrical energy, it would have a twofold effect. Firstly it would help flatten out the duck curve of power vs demand and it would also have a very minor effect in reducing the heat island effect

[@bknesheim]

I would say that your thinking very narrow for the potential if thermal radiation could be converted to electricity. You could replace cooling towers at power plants, us stone as batteries, cool your solar cells and all the places where we just dump the heat could be converted to producing electricity.

[@robertb6889]

Silicon is already at the infra-red. You actually want it to catch the bluer light at higher energies to drive up voltage and lose less on the high-energy photon side.

[@mechanicjobs]

This man knows his stuff.👍❤🇨🇦

[@briancohen-doherty4392]

Sincerely appreciate your efforts!

[@JustHaveaThink]

Cheers Brian :-)

[@ght33]

As I sit here in my condo with a small south exposer, on the 50th parallel, on a rainy day, I imagine a day when I will have a solar panel in my home that generates enough energy to operate my applianced and gives me light. Ideas and thinkers like these give me hope it will be in years rather than decades.

[@nicolalionello4421]

Excellent video! Looking forward to the commercial applications of this technology

[@riveness]

It was a transformational game changer when I worked at ecn 15 years ago. It has massive potential due to the ease of manufacture

[@benlamprecht6414]

Thanks for yet another excellent video

[@rickhobson3211]

"Transformational Gamechanger": Someone who flips the Monopoly board after landing on someone else's Park Place.

[@Inkulabi]

In a few years time, this should be good to go and can't wait to see the use cases

[@EleanorPeterson]

As someone living in the grey, wet and gloomy north of England I'm more excited at the thought of being able to run the technology in reverse. Just think... You could expose a cell to direct Yorkshire and get 'sunshine' out of it. ☀️ (What? Of course I'm joking. But sometimes on KZbin it's necessary to state the obvious. 🙄)

[@JustHaveaThink]

:-)

[@jensonee]

so many good things are going to happen in the future, waiting

[@kjkuchma]

The material was a transformational game changer back in 1988 too as a superconductor. Say what you want, this stuff is consistent. . .

[@Shadobanned4life]

Today's newest breakthroughs in materials science are finally allowing many of yesterday's theories and ideas to be tested.

[@marsupialdungbucket]

I'm looking forward to seeing a material like this coating the upper surfaces of airships, allowing them to run entirely on the energy they collect for themselves.

[@narobii9815]

Now imagining them with their own hydrogen generators so the could stay up in the air until food runs low or something

[@carryonsailing]

Excellent video as always. Thanks for this info

[@carlsapartments8931]

Probably by the end of this century every human built structure will be all solar exterior cladding and it probably won't look any different than it does now but all surfaces will generate some power.

[@nathanhaskell1743]

Great stuff as always!!

[@KamCh84]

Thanks Dave another good one. What's up with the Saule Technologies from Poland, havent they started production of printed solar cells based on Perovskite like year ago? Solar sunblinds look amazing. Thanks

[@lat7805]

You have such a beautiful voice! So calming

[@JustHaveaThink]

Thank you. I appreciate that :-)

[@zappedguy1327]

Thanks for the vid.I enjoy your content.

[@johnalden948]

About solar in general, Installations should areas where grass or other CO2 users live. Let them do their photosynthesis thing. Do cover parking lots warehouse and factory roofs. Make the residential installations with a dead air space to provide insulation. Finally, make the panels to a standard size with installation clips simplify replacement of damaged or worn solar panels.

[@firefox39693]

In response to your last question, I that floating solar with dual-axis tracking systems are the future of solar. With floating solar, you avoid the configuration constraints of residential rooftop solar: rooftop size, shape, direction, shadows, and the capacity of the grid hookup to the grid. It's also a great new solution for community solar arrays. Grid-scale solar reduces installation costs per KW, there is no limit to how much capacity a household, or business can buy, and it allows for renters, people who live in apartments, townhouses, and small businesses without rooftop space to buy into solar, wind energy, and energy storage.

[@massivecumshot]

Another nice thing about solar over aquaponic farms is it helps prevent evaporation and provides safe breeding refuges for fish and crustaceans.

[@silvergreylion]

Then again, a powerful storm will easily smash such things to pieces.

[@firefox39693]

@@silvergreylion No, it wouldn't.

[@davidwilkie9551]

Excellent Report. Are we there yet?, just about maybe.

[@kds8113]

Brilliant explanation, thanks

[@casualobserver3702]

More exciting news, Thanks for sharing.

[@JustHaveaThink]

Thank you :-)

[@Zoyx]

Looking forward to the next update on Perovskite tech. I will be updating my solar panels in about 10 years. Hoping this tech will be available by then.

[@douggray169]

Thanks for the update

[@Devibaba]

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing!!

[@juanmacias4854]

Nice presentation! Had not considered Perovskite, but interesting that it has potential to reach 30%+ efficiency, much better than the 17% for silicon. Cost seems to be good as well, the lead issue and stability seem to be the road block. But science continues as it should in America. I still see fossil fuel (natural gas primarily) as the main solution for power companies, unless we move back into Nuclear energy. The transition needs be slow as to not burden middle and lower class as it is doing today with ridiculous gas prices of $6 to $9 per gallon and inflation up to 9%.

[@constructioneerful]

I like the idea of being able to replace just the film and extend the lifespan of the solar panel..

[@robertb6889]

Replacing in situ would involve spraying/spreading soluble lead compounds. You’re pretty much guaranteed to have to at a minimum take them back to a manufacturing site because until it’s encapsulated it doesn’t like oxygen or water at all.

[@constructioneerful]

@@robertb6889 ahh .. I thought I was being optimistic but it would be a useful direction to avoid panel redundancy.

[@robertb6889]

@@constructioneerful If you designed it carefully, you might be able to reuse a large part of the panel for easy recycling - essentially refurbishing it in-factory. Though at the same time, honestly, you shouldn't have production lines static enough in place for a solar panel which should have 20yr lifetimes or more, similar to a 15-30 year roof lifespan.

[@chuckkottke]

Thanks Dave! Sounds good, just the elemental choices for the protective layer leaves me wondering if something safer could be developed. As one Canadian toxicologist mentioned to me, there really is no safe lower limit for exposure to cadmium, and possibly the same is true of lead. Given that awareness of lead's toxic nature, it's best to risk less by finding an alternative. On another wavelength of thought, I've often wondered if silicon solar cells are most responsive in the red light area of the spectrum, then why not develop a fluorescent layer that converts the higher frequencies of light into red light for the cell to use? I must be missing something, for it seems obvious that could work. Leave your responses in the reply section below. 🌎😉

[@schlinzgau]

The problem with converting blue to red photons is that it only starts to make sense once you get two (infra)red photons out of one blue photon, otherwise you just reduced the energy of one photon which doesn't help efficiency. This concept (2 for 1) is called down-conversion and has so far not made it into a real product for various reasons, one of them is the additional absorption loss that occurs in such an additional down-conversion layer.

[@incognitotorpedo42]

They will probably reduce the thickness of the various protective coatings by a lot. If they don't, the 100 nm layer of gold will kill them, since it's 1.93 grams per square meter. Today's price of gold is $57.61 per gram. Of course, that amount of gold would also make recycling of old panels a lot more likely.

[@victorportengen7941]

The problem with finding alternatives to lead is that the only really viable candidate is tin. Tin perovskites are even more unstable than lead as the tin will undergo an autoredoxreaction as Sn2+ -> Sn + Sn4+ which is almost impossible to stop. I think the answer is in the use of increasingly thinner layers which minimise lead need as well as protective outer layers which will sequester the lead. You should also be thinking about unmanned space probe applications where lead poisoning does not play a factor.

[@mrstock7986]

I like the idea of using a fluorescent layer to 'downsample' blue & UV light into the optimal spectrum for silicon absorption. This will work. It is exactly how white LEDs are made. But the same trick will work if the light flows in the other direction, of course. The question is whether the energy lost in the down-conversion process will be less than the efficiency gained by shifting the (dominant) wavelength.

[@UncleKennysPlace]

Lead is everywhere, and in the proper compound, not a great health concern. Don't burn it in fuel, for example. Otherwise, there are about 2.9 billion kilograms of lead just in car batteries in the USA alone. A US billion, as in 2,900,000,000.

[@S0oo]

There are 3 technologies i wish to see in my lifetime. (Best case as a regular consumer) #1 Quantum Computing #2 Nuclear Fusion #3 Solid-state battery

[@tgdomnemo5052]

With You it allways feels like i really understood 😉

[@TedToal_TedToal]

Great news, thanks!

[@movax20h]

Lower cost for cells are nice, but longitivity is even more important. A big part of cost of solar arrays is framing, contracting, installation, permitting, etc. To lower it you need to make cells longer lasting. And I mean 40+ years at 80%+ rated power.

[@davestagner]

In his book “Electrify”, Saul Griffith goes extensively into the issues around contracting, installation, and permitting for residential/rooftop solar. He harshly criticizes backward-thinking local regulations, and points out that these local regulations are the main reason residential solar is far more expensive in the US than it is in Australia. I don’t see any reason that rooftop PV solar installation, properly industrialized, should need significantly more complex or heavily regulated installation than ordinary roofing material - and it’s considered totally normal to replace shingles every 15-20 years, and doesn’t require elaborate permits.

[@lexpox329]

If the panels were sufficiently cheap and modular I would replace them myself. I'm imagining a scenario in which the mounting hardware, inverters and wiring don't need replacing except every 30 years. So at a 5 year lifespan you would replace the panels 6 times before any of the other hardware. If the process was easy and the panels cheap I don't see that as a problem. The bigger issue is recycling of the panels.

[@robertturner6532]

Oxford PV started industrial production of Perovskite solar cells based on some patents in particular from Professor Henry Snaith at the University of Oxford.

[@johnransom1146]

Solar film on curbs, road signs, awnings and canopies, sails, car roof, hood and hatches, maybe glass windows in cars and buildings, tractor trailer roofs, rvs and motor homes, maybe even beach umbrellas that have a fan and a light

[@pirojfmifhghek566]

Ah yes, I remember that infamous moment in science when Benjamin Franklin flew a perovskite in a lightning storm. A truly paradigm shifting moment. [two drums and a cymbal fall off a cliff]

[@JustHaveaThink]

I hope he told Perov that he was borrowing his kite then!! ;-)

[@djtomchay6396]

Every month I see an article on batteries and solar panels saying that it is a game changer, yet nothing ever changes. Also cold fusion

[@cleanriver2]

Solar PV has dropped 90% in cost while increasing efficiency, leading to exponential worldwide growth. It's LCOE is lower than fossil fuels in many markets. I wouldn't lump it with cold fusion.

[@alfredspijkerman]

Thx, great info. Sure hope this technology evolves quickly. The world needs a lot of clean energy. Personally developing electric fast pleasure boats. We schedule also solar panels on the bimini top. But the surface area is limited as will be with a lot of cases. Therefore real high efficiency will make these applications very meaningful.

[@robertb6889]

The efficiency won’t change drastically. Vehicles with solar power are going to either struggle with range (and have to stop and recharge) or with speed and power. You could get 100% efficiency and that’s about 1kW/m2, or a bit over 1 horsepower per square meter. So realistically anything above 0.5hp per square meter is unlikely.

[@alfredspijkerman]

@@robertb6889 Well, that is the case of a pleasure boat (probably also with a car) not really the entire truth. As an example, we are developing a 8.5 meter - 12 persons pleasure boat with top speed of 40 km/h but optimal speed at 30 km/h. At optimal speed (30 km/h) it consumes 25 kW. It has 90 kWH battery capacity, so it can travel on its battery 108 km on optimal speed. When we have a solar roof of 10m2 at 30% effeciency and we enjoy a nice sunny day (8h)on the water, we could fill our batteries with: 8 * 10 * 1 * 30% = 24 kwH, so that is almost 30 km of extra range. A lot of boaters don't do more than 30 km on a daytrip. Even more, if you would slow down to about 15 km/h (requires 7 kw), your extended range of the sun would create about 100 km, more than enough to take you home, if you accidentally overestimated your standard battery range. Similar for EV: they store the energy in their batteries, n average they are used far less than 100%, probably less than 5-10% of the day. Now: this is already great for my boat design with 30%, imagine what would happen if the efficiency went up to even higher values (say 40%) and when I would increase the solar panel area! It would mean, that you could sail the oceans with reasonable speeds all day long!

[@robertb6889]

@@alfredspijkerman Cost scales exponentially going over 20-25% because of the Schockley-Queisser limit. You have to have multi-junction solar panels which are REALLY expensive. They're currently mostly used for aerospace applications where they're having to be launched to orbit, so the weight counts. But yes, in your case, if that's all you're expecting - go out for a bit, sit in the water all day, and head back, it is viable with sufficient battery storage.

[@valmaughan2344]

What i would love to see us do is develop Perovskite into a paint, so all of are surface's are working for us.

[@BrianE_PhD]

It's so interesting to me how changing the perovskite composition (and consequently it's band structure) necessitates different materials for the HTL and ETL. Here TiO2 is the ETL but conventionally in many cells, especially those utilizing MAPbI3, TiO2 is the HTL material

[@1jimjon]

If Perovskite cells are able to be made on flexible film & are so cheap, then would it make sense to have a solar panel with a dispensible roll similar to the old style overhead projectors that could be wound forward occasionally as the perovskite degrades? Would save the cost of new mounts & labour, & the expired rolls could be replaced every few decades, work as a quick economical fix until the boffins come up with a more durable solution.

[@antonhuman8446]

Thank you!

[@patrickdegenaar9495]

The cost of silicon solar cells is already a tiny proportion of the total cost of installation. So perovskites dont actually have a cost advantage. As they are toxic, they therefore need a significant efficiency increase for the same longevity and cost as silicon.

[@agnelomascarenhas8990]

The bottleneck in cost is energy storage at night and also for longer duration such as weeks. Perovskites are useful in some cases such as Silicon Perovskite tandem cell to improve efficiency or the advantages of flexible PV film.

[@robertdavenport7802]

Agree. I wonder if there is as much research/innovation into reducing inverter, hardware, and wiring costs etc.

[@HiltonT69]

Looking even more promising...

[@gojalee]

I am a PV-monteur and Solar panels are crazy heavy for house roofs. Not all roofs are flat so is not easy to walk on roof with 20kg panel + weight from aluminium and st. One my colleague was blown from the roof by the wind.

[@TheGamerHenstrike]

My materials science prof went on for 3 hours about this exact subject when reviewing perovskites. 3 whole lectures

[@neilreid2298]

Excellent vid! There is such a strong demand for next gen solar arrays. The current tech is not quite there (I speak as a dealer).

[@chrisyoung5929]

1:30 the diagram has a couple of small error that amused me. 1) look at the cube with green corners. the front right vertical should be in front of the diamond red to grey strut. 2) the thin lines running from the rear red and right most red to the lowest red should be in front of the bottom rear bar. Sorry just me aspy brain can not un-see them.

[@janami-dharmam]

you have a great pair of eyes. The red balls should be on the center of each faces (each face is shared by two hence three red balls) and eight corner green balls are shared by eight (hence one per cell). Poor perspective control has lead to this mess.

[@bearalohalani]

My Aspie brain couldn't visualize any of it, but it was still pretty! 😉

[@JustHaveaThink]

I did wonder if anyone would be pedantic enough to even bother commenting.

[@chrisyoung5929]

@@JustHaveaThink You have no idea how pedantic I can get. I have already started work on a model that could produce the picture to see if it just an illusion.

[@chrisyoung5929]

@@JustHaveaThink Answer is you can produce the diagram in a few versions from the specific angle shown. It is simply a matter of curving the lines towards or away from the camera so that they look straight from this angle. Surprisingly I don't think any of the resulting object will revolutionise solar cells!

[@antonywooster6783]

I look forward to a day when roads and railways, stations, filling stations and carparks are roofed over with solar panels, generating power where it will be needed to drive the cars and trains. (The railways could, perhaps, become net generators rather than net consumers of power, at least in some countries.) There would, of course, need to be large secondary batteries at intervals alongside the tracks. This would, I think, largely solve the oft-repeated complaints of "where is the extra load on the grid is to come from?" or "how will it be be distributed by it?". This would incidentally help solve the problem of snow on the railway tracks and on the roads and the "loss of good agricultural land". Most, though not all, travel happens during the day so it is convenient that most power would be generated during the time when it is needed most, thus reducing the storage capacity needed. Large secondary batteries are going to be needed anyway at the filling stations of the future, particularly given the emphasis on rapid charging.

[@ramblerandy2397]

Normally I try to make a measured comment on a video, but today I'm just going to say that I love Perovskite [and those plastic eating bacteria] and I can't wait for it to happen. So instead I'm buying Silicon. But next time... So I'll comment about the channel. I've been watching Dave get better and better at what he does since a few months after he started all this. And if he and Robert Llewellyn of TFCS ever got together for a light-hearted, broadcast-able chat, that would be really entertaining, if probably not so informative as usual. But subscribers would rise very quickly, I have no doubt, as TFCS followers who don't know about JHAT would quickly add this channel to their collection. I guess what I'm saying is, mix with the mainstream a bit more, to get this great content in front of more people. Just saying, Dave. If I was only allowed one YT channel this would undoubtedly be it. But I'm sure we all want more people to see Dave and his super presentations.

[@CHIEF_420]

🎓

[@JustHaveaThink]

Hi Andy. That's extremely kind feedback and very much appreciated :-) Maybe one day I will get the opportunity to chat to Robert. I would very much enjoy that.

[@MrMichiel1983]

Solar panels and energy storage are already on par with carbon alternatives. Soon they will be the only economically viable option. Oil, coal and gas won't go away, but instead of burning it, we will use it in the chemical industry. Plastic recycling will soon pick up too, because of those ever-increasing carbon prices. Things might not seem dire on the long run, but I do wonder how much of nature will be destroyed before we truly get our act together; things do still seem bleak given the speed of habitat destruction...

[@achenarmyst2156]

Absolutely. Tech is all important but it will not get us off the hook. Without significantly smaller eco footprints neither humans nor great parts of nature are going to survive this.

[@paulvansteenberghe4644]

Alvin Marks patented a film called Lumeloid which uses a polarizing film which has highly conductive nano-antennas (quantum wells) of various lengths, effectively creating a multiple band gap device. The film absorbs about 96% of the visible, IR and UV light that comes through our atmosphere and converts it into DC.

[@JoeyBlogs007]

Would be interesting to see the entire body of an EV covered in these cells.

[@stopscammingman]

Great coverage. SUBSCRIBED

[@Yanquetino]

Had to scratch my head on this one, but nonetheless am encouraged!

[@ladyselenafelicitywhite1596]

If they really have achieved this then that's awesome 🙋🏼‍♀️

[@bradleejones9959]

Dennis Lee's invention produces energy 24/7 anywhere in the world, hot or cold, day or night. And connected to their compression motor, it runs continuesly recycling over and over. The more the wind hits it, the more heat it extracts from the atmosphere. Therefore it doesn't need the Sun. A very simple and easy to manufacture device. Very little maintenance, has already been in production and on the market for over two decades. But the Nurds want to make everything so difficult. You'd think that if the Climate Crisis was real, this device would be mandated for every building in the world. But the Climate Crisis is a Hoax. So good luck with having real products for real solutions. While you're here, look up Dennis Lee, Troy Reed and The Big Eureka. At least have a peek down the Rabbit Hole.

[@tomkelly8827]

Are these cells that actually last also cost effective? I noticed that these cells are literally gold plated. Look at 4:53, you will notice that Au is the outer layer, Au is gold

[@nzeches]

Interesting step forward, thanks for the video. One question : Beyond continuous intense light & heat testing, did they consider the cycling of lighting and climatic conditions that may affect material integrity over time ?

[@jasonbroom7147]

It's encouraging that minds far brighter than mine are constantly working to improve upon our ability to generate energy from renewable sources. We will eventually find the right combinations of technology to allow to leave fossil fuels in the ground and hopefully begin to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. These solutions have to be both ecologically sound and financially viable because mankind has rarely adopted any kind of change unless it clearly improved their bottom line.