Perovskite-Silicon Tandem Solar Cell Efficiency Breaks 39%: Oxford PV Sets New Photovoltaic Conversion Efficiency World Record

Perovskite-Silicon Tandem Solar Cell Efficiency Breaks 39%

On October 31, 2030, UK photovoltaic company Oxford PV announced that its perovskite-silicon heterojunction tandem solar cell achieved 39.1% conversion efficiency under standard test conditions (STC), independently certified by Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE). This is a new world record for photovoltaic cell efficiency.

Perovskite-silicon tandem cells combine perovskite materials (which absorb short-wavelength light) and silicon materials (which absorb long-wavelength light), theoretically enabling them to surpass the Shockley-Queisser limit (approximately 29.4%) of single-junction silicon cells.

Oxford PV CTO Chris Case stated: "39% means we are just one step away from the 40% milestone. More importantly, our tandem cell process is compatible with existing silicon cell production lines, with manufacturing costs increasing by only approximately 15%."

Oxford PV plans to bring the 39% efficiency tandem cells to the commercial market in 2031, with initial target customers being rooftop photovoltaic and space-constrained applications (such as building-integrated photovoltaics). The company expects commercial versions to achieve stable efficiencies of 36% to 37%.

The commercialization challenge for this technology lies in the long-term stability of the perovskite layer — perovskite materials are sensitive to moisture and ultraviolet light. Oxford PV states that its encapsulation technology has passed the IEC 61215 standard accelerated aging test (85 degrees Celsius/85% humidity, 1,000 hours).