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Super-efficient solar cells: Solar cells that combine traditional silicon with cutting-edge perovskites

Solar cells that combine traditional silicon with cutting-edge perovskites could push the efficiency of solar panels to new heights.

These cells layer the traditional silicon with materials that share a unique crystal structure. In the decade that scientists have been toying with perovskite solar technology, it has continued to best its own efficiency records, which measure how much of the sunlight that hits the cell is converted into electricity. In May, UK-based Oxford PV said it had reached an efficiency of 28.6% for a commercial-size perovskite tandem cell, which is significantly larger than those used to test the materials in the lab, and it plans to deliver its first panels and ramp up manufacturing in 2024.

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