Chuangyebang was informed that GCL Optoelectronics, a leader in perovskite photovoltaic technology, announced the completion of a series B financing of hundreds of millions of yuan, led by a well-known domestic institution, and Light Source Capital as the financial advisor. The financing will be used to further improve the company’s 100MW perovskite production line and process.
With the joint efforts of academia and industry, perovskite solar cells have achieved the same or better results than crystalline silicon cells in terms of stability and efficiency. As the current record holder of the largest size perovskite cell, GCL Optoelectronics is committed to developing 1m × 2m large-size perovskite components, which will enable the commercialization of perovskite cells at a lower kWh cost than crystalline silicon. mass production.
The actual performance of perovskite mass-produced cells will exceed that of crystalline silicon
With the acceleration of the global energy transition, wind-based renewable energy power continues to grow, and photovoltaics have now become the most competitive power generation products in the world. According to the “China Photovoltaic Industry Development Roadmap (2021)”, the p-type monocrystalline cell with the highest conversion efficiency among crystalline silicon solar cells has increased its efficiency to 23.2% in 2021, and the corresponding module efficiency is about 20%. At the same time, the cost per kilowatt hour of photovoltaics has been approached or lower than that of thermal power (the lowest successful bid price for photovoltaics in 2021 is as low as 0.1476 yuan/kWh, and the price of thermal power varies from 0.1-0.4 yuan/kWh due to fuel price fluctuations, based on 20-year long-term coal prices The average is 0.189 yuan/kWh).
Perovskite cells have become the currently recognized next-generation photovoltaic cell technology due to their higher conversion efficiency upper limit and lower kWh cost. In the “14th Five-Year Plan for Scientific and Technological Innovation in the Energy Field” jointly issued by the National Energy Administration and the Ministry of Science and Technology, the preparation and industrialized production technology of high-efficiency perovskite cells and the technology of high-efficiency and low-cost photovoltaic cells are listed as advanced and renewable technologies. The key tasks of energy generation and comprehensive utilization technology.
1m×2m perovskite module
In the field of perovskite cells, GCL Optoelectronics completed the efficiency certification of perovskite modules with a size of 45cm × 65cm in 2019. It has been certified by TÜV Rheinland, the world’s most authoritative commercial certification body for photovoltaic modules, with an efficiency of 15.31% (now it has improved to 17%), it is by far the world’s largest perovskite module with the highest module efficiency certification. GCL Optoelectronics has also become the only company in the world that has obtained commercial certification for practical products of perovskite components.
At present, the world’s largest perovskite module with a size of 1m × 2m produced by GCL has been offline, and the world’s first 100MW mass production line has been constructed in Kunshan. It is expected that after the process and production capacity are stabilized, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of mass-produced module products will exceed 18%. Considering that the efficiency of crystalline silicon cells will decrease by 0.3% every time the operating temperature rises by 1 degree, and the perovskite cells will remain unchanged, the efficiency of this module product is not much different from that of mainstream PERC modules, and at the same time, it has a better low-light effect. Can lead to better actual power generation, and the cost is expected to be reduced to 70% of crystalline silicon products. In the future, the efficiency of perovskite modules is expected to further improve to more than 25%. GCL Optoelectronics believes that perovskite modules will soon surpass the current mainstream crystalline silicon modules in terms of power generation and kWh cost, and the next generation of photovoltaic cells has reached the critical point of mass production and application.
In terms of theoretical efficiency, the single-layer theoretical efficiency of the new perovskite photovoltaic cell can reach 33%; the perovskite tandem cell, including the double-node tandem conversion efficiency of crystalline silicon/perovskite, can reach 43%. The theoretical efficiency of the three-layer cell can reach more than 50%. He also believes that high photoelectric conversion efficiency, simple production process, low production cost and material cost are significant advantages of perovskite cells.
The speed of evolution is fast, and the “upgradable” potential of perovskite is amazing
The first appearance of perovskite as an organic photovoltaic cell was in 2009. Due to the “upgradable” feature of perovskite in formula, the iteration speed of perovskite technology far exceeds that of previous photovoltaic cell technology.
The data shows that from 13% to 26% photoelectric conversion efficiency (laboratory), crystalline silicon cells have taken more than 40 years, while perovskite has only taken 10 years. In addition, the stability and other problems that appeared in the early stage of perovskite have also been solved by academia and industry.
In 2019, scientists from Shanghai Jiaotong University published a paper in Science and pointed out that they have designed a perovskite battery that can work continuously for 1,000 hours at 60 degrees Celsius and still maintain 90% of the initial efficiency. In 2021, the academic community will further push this indicator. to 2000 hours.
In the industry, perovskite products have passed stability tests based on crystalline silicon standards. Taking the 100MW mass production line of GCL Optoelectronics as an example, it is expected that the service life of off-line products will exceed 25 years.
Fan Bin, founder and CEO of GCL Optoelectronics, mentioned that on the one hand, perovskite technology has a higher efficiency ceiling, on the other hand, because of the low temperature and solution processing technology, it has advantages in cost and size limit; The biggest feature is that it can be continuously upgraded. For example, through formula optimization and packaging process improvement, the industry has now improved the stability of perovskite cells to the same level as crystalline silicon.
In terms of large size, GCL Optoelectronics is still the record holder in this field. Fan Bin pointed out that a large-scale perovskite battery is a systematic project, which needs to solve problems such as large-area coating, large-area laser characterization, packaging, etc. It also needs to redesign and manufacture corresponding equipment, screen and develop materials, and continue to test. A technical barrier that cannot be skipped in time and path.
The world’s first perovskite photovoltaic building project, which was run during the Beijing Winter Olympics, is located in Zhangjiakou, and the exterior wall is built with GCL Optoelectronics’ 1m × 2m large-scale perovskite components.
Autonomous perovskite technology for next-generation photovoltaics
Relying on the world’s only complete industrial chain based on crystalline silicon, China’s photovoltaic industry has achieved global leadership, occupying a leading position in various links such as silicon materials, silicon wafers, batteries, films, and glass. According to the data of China Photovoltaic Industry Association, China’s photovoltaic module production has been ranked first in the world since 2006.
This competitive pattern has led Japan, Europe and the United States to invest heavily in the development of next-generation photovoltaic technology based on perovskite. Judging from the financing situation in the past two years, perovskite start-ups in Europe and the United States have shown a situation of more blooming.
GCL Optoelectronics is still ahead of its overseas competitors in technology. It is one of only three perovskite companies that have started the construction of a 100MW production line, and has established an advantage in size.
Taking the 100MW production line of GCL Optoelectronics as an example, the LCOE after mass production of 1m×2m modules is expected to further decrease on the basis of the current crystalline silicon, from the current close to thermal power to lower than that of hydropower.
GCL Technology, a major shareholder of GCL Optoelectronics, said: “As a global and innovative leading industrial group with green, low-carbon and zero-carbon technology leading sustainable development, GCL has always focused on the exploration and investment of cutting-edge technologies in the field of new energy. With years of technological innovation Deeply cultivated with the industry, it has successively realized the promotion of GCL rod-shaped silicon technology, the mass production of FBR granular silicon technology, and major scientific research breakthroughs in CCZ technology. Industrial support has enabled GCL Optoelectronics to achieve rapid development and lead the entire industry. GCL will continue to fully support it in application scenario verification, supply chain collaboration, stacking technology cooperation, etc. I believe that GCL has full industry experience in the photovoltaic field. And industry advantages, it will help GCL Optoelectronics to quickly complete the completion and commissioning of the GW-level production line to accelerate the realization of the commercialization process.”
Cathay Fund will lead GCL Optoelectronics’ Series A financing in 2020. Zhao Jing, Managing Director of Cathay Fund, said: “Perovskite photovoltaic materials have made great progress in efficiency improvement, cost reduction, production carbon footprint, and production integration. Space and commercialization prospects are generally considered to be one of the next-generation photovoltaic technologies with the most commercialization prospects in the industry. As a global leader in the industry, GCL Optoelectronics continues to work hard and innovate to become the world’s leading large-area perovskite module business China’s photovoltaic industry has strong and broad technical reserves and market space, and Cathay Fund has always insisted on providing enough soil for emerging startups to help them develop and iterate rapidly. Congratulations to Dr. Fan and his team, we will continue to do so Through the rich industrial resource advantages of Cathay’s global ecosystem, it will help GCL Optoelectronics grow rapidly and steadily.”
Xue Ling, managing director of Light Source Capital, said: “Light Source Capital is optimistic about the huge value brought by the new energy field to global sustainable development, and is optimistic about the industry breakthrough and efficiency improvement brought by material innovation, technological breakthrough and process innovation. High-quality perovskite materials With its strong light absorption ability, high designability, simple preparation process, low production capacity investment and low manufacturing cost, it has become the most potential next-generation photovoltaic material. GCL Optoelectronics has successfully launched the world’s first 100MW mass production line, and Leading the industry in the mass production and conversion efficiency of large-scale modules. The light source highly recognizes Dr. Fan and his team’s deep cultivation and layout in the perovskite field, as well as GCL Group’s forward-looking investment in innovative technology incubation, and also looks forward to the company’s The GW-level production line will be launched as soon as possible.”
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