A notable development in photovoltaic technology has been claimed by a team of researchers led by Nanjing University, and cooperating with the solar cell producer Renshine Solar, as they have created a perovskite solar module with the area of 810 cm² and the efficiency of converting the solar energy into electricity of 24.0%. This result has been verified by TÜV SÜD, and it is a world record in creating perovskites' modules over 800 cm² of area. The findings have been published in the journal "Nature."
Beyond the Laboratory: The Scale Challenge
Perovskite solar cells have long dazzled researchers with their rapid efficiency gains-from just 3.8% in 2009 to over 25% in laboratory-scale devices today. But the path from a tiny lab cell to a commercially viable large module has been fraught with obstacles. As devices scale up, defects multiply, coatings become uneven, and efficiency plummets. This "scale gap" has been the single greatest barrier to perovskite commercialization.
The team from Nanjing University has finally covered this distance successfully. Their module, measuring 810 cm²; similar to a common sheet of paper, has produced a record efficiency of 24.2% for the module tested under lab conditions, while the independent certification confirmed an efficiency of 24.0%. The module has also been showing an open-circuit voltage of 53.46 V, a short-circuiting current of 0.436 A and a fill factor of 83.40%. While maximum power point tracking is working, the output of the module is stable at the level of 19.4 W.
Even more impressively, the team fabricated 150 modules with a total area of 0.72 m²-a true meter-scale product-achieving an average power output of 144 W. The champion among these reached a certified efficiency of 22.0% and an output of 158.4 W, setting a meter-scale efficiency record.
The Technical Breakthrough: Rethinking Surface Passivation
What made this achievement possible? The answer lies in a clever rethinking of surface passivation-the process of treating defects at the boundary of the perovskite layer that trap charge carriers and accelerate recombination, lowering the voltage and current a device can extract from sunlight.
Conventional passivation relies on ammonium halides (AHPs), which work well in the laboratory but become problematic at scale. When combined with slot-die coating-the continuous deposition method used for large-area manufacturing-AHPs tend to distribute unevenly, leaving some regions over-treated and others under-passivated. They are also sensitive to moisture, typically forcing manufacturers to process meter-scale modules inside inert atmospheres, adding equipment complexity and cost.
The Chinese team took a fundamentally different approach. Instead of relying on the passivator to compensate for an unfavorable surface, they engineered the perovskite film's surface chemistry before passivating it. Using a solvent system with high saturation vapor pressure, they controlled the film's crystallization to produce a surface naturally enriched in formamidinium iodide (FAI). They then treated that tailored surface with lead dioleate-a chemically stable lead carboxylate (LCP)-in place of conventional ammonium halides.
The findings were revolutionary. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy proved the presence of chemical bonds in between the LCP and the FAI-rich surface, while photoluminescence analysis showed that the carrier lifetime increased from 264 nanoseconds to 706 nanoseconds, meaning that the carrier trapping decreased considerably and the passivation quality improved significantly. In contrast to the films treated by AHP, which exhibited uneven depositions and defects on a macro scale, the LCP treatment resulted in continuous hydrophobic films characterized by improved resistance to moisture, heat, and UV radiation.
Durability: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle
Efficiency is only half the story. For any photovoltaic technology to succeed commercially, it must endure decades of real-world weather. Here, the LCP approach delivered equally striking results.
In International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard tests, LCP-treated modules showed remarkable resilience. After 1,300 hours of damp-heat exposure, LCP modules lost just 2% of their initial efficiency-compared to 39% for AHP-treated modules. After 300 thermal cycles, degradation was negligible. After 2,200 hours of maximum power point tracking, the modules retained 96% of their initial efficiency. They also retained 95% of initial performance after UV aging. All LCP-modified modules passed the full IEC 61215 reliability test suite-the international standard used to qualify the durability of terrestrial photovoltaic modules. Field monitoring showed their specific energy output exceeded that of silicon TOPCon modules.
Why This Matters for the Solar Industry
This breakthrough carries profound implications for the global solar industry.
First, it demonstrates that perovskite photovoltaics can be manufactured using ambient-air processing rather than requiring rigorously controlled inert environments. This removes a major cost barrier to industrial-scale production.
Second, the approach addresses the passivation-versus-conductivity trade-off that has long limited the benefit of purely defect-blocking treatment layers. By both suppressing electronic defects and enhancing carrier transport across the interface, the LCP strategy achieves what many thought impossible: better performance at larger scale.
Third, and perhaps most significantly, the team's success at meter-scale-with 150 modules produced and tested-proves that the technology can be translated from research cells into manufacturing-relevant architectures. As the researchers noted, their results demonstrate a manufacturing strategy that pairs deliberately engineered surface chemistry with a stable, ambient-compatible passivator-an approach that could help close the gap between highly optimized laboratory perovskite cells and modules made by continuous, industrial-scale coating.
The Road Ahead
The 24% efficiency milestone for large-area perovskite modules is not an endpoint-it is a waypoint. Industry observers note that with continued refinement, 2–3 m² commercial modules achieving 26% efficiency are within reach. Meanwhile, tandem perovskite-silicon and all-perovskite tandem architectures continue to push boundaries, with some configurations already exceeding 26% efficiency at smaller scales.
What the Nanjing University-Renshine Solar collaboration has proven is that perovskite photovoltaics are no longer just a laboratory curiosity. They are becoming a manufacturable, durable, and increasingly efficient reality. As the world races to decarbonize its energy systems, this breakthrough offers a powerful reminder that the next generation of solar technology is not decades away-it is being built right now, one record at a time.
