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Enabling reliability assessments of pre-commercial perovskite photovoltaics with lessons learned from industrial standards

Nature Energy volume 3, pages 459–465 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Photovoltaic modules are expected to operate in the field for more than 25 years, so reliability assessment is critical for the commercialization of new photovoltaic technologies. In early development stages, understanding and addressing the device degradation mechanisms are the priorities. However, any technology targeting large-scale deployment must eventually pass industry-standard qualification tests and undergo reliability testing to validate the module lifetime. In this Perspective, we review the methodologies used to assess the reliability of established photovoltaics technologies and to develop standardized qualification tests. We present the stress factors and stress levels for degradation mechanisms currently identified in pre-commercial perovskite devices, along with engineering concepts for mitigation of those degradation modes. Recommendations for complete and transparent reporting of stability tests are given, to facilitate future inter-laboratory comparisons and to further the understanding of field-relevant degradation mechanisms, which will benefit the development of accelerated stress tests.

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Fig. 1: Perovskite solar cell structure.

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Acknowledgements

The work at Oxford University was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UK, and from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 framework programme for research and innovation under grant agreement no. 653296 of the CHEOPS project. The work at National Renewable Energy Laboratory was supported by the US Department of Energy under contract no. DE-AC36-08GO28308 with Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, the Manager and Operator of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

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  1. Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Henry J. Snaith

  2. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, USA

    Peter Hacke

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Correspondence to Henry J. Snaith or Peter Hacke.

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Henry J. Snaith is Founder and CSO of Oxford PV Ltd, a company commercializing perovskite photovoltaics.

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Snaith, H.J., Hacke, P. Enabling reliability assessments of pre-commercial perovskite photovoltaics with lessons learned from industrial standards. Nat Energy 3, 459–465 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-018-0174-4

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