2018年9月21日，《科学》（Science）刊发了华中科技大学武汉光电国家研究中心韩宏伟教授团队合作论文“钙钛矿太阳能电池产业化的挑战”（“Challenges for commercializing perovskite solar cells”）。华中科技大学荣耀光副教授、胡玥副教授和梅安意博士为共同第一作者，华中科技大学韩宏伟教授、加拿大多伦多大学Edward H. Sargent教授，美国科罗拉多大学Michael D. McGehee教授，韩国蔚山国立科技研究所Sang Il Seok教授为共同通讯作者。

充分利用太阳能是解决目前人类面临的能源短缺和环境污染等问题的根本途径。作为新兴太阳能电池技术的杰出代表，钙钛矿太阳能电池（Perovskite solar cells）基于地球储量丰富的元素和简单的溶液法制备，有望实现廉价太阳能发电，因此受到各国科研工作者及产业界的关注。在过去的几年里，钙钛矿太阳能电池发展了多种器件结构和材料体系（图1A），其光电转换效率迅速提升，稳定性也获得很大改善，目前不仅有大量的科研机构开展钙钛矿太阳能电池的相关研究，国内外还涌现出多家科技公司对钙钛矿太阳能电池进行商业化探索及推广。针对钙钛矿太阳能电池商业化的关键问题及所面临的挑战，团队对目前钙钛矿太阳能电池所获得的最新进展进行了总结，并从钙钛矿太阳能电池寿命评价标准、性能衰减机理，器件尺寸放大、环境影响等方面对其未来的发展及商业化进行了展望。

图1 （A）基于不同器件结构和材料体系的钙钛矿太阳能电池示意图；（B）110平米可印刷钙钛矿太阳能电池示范系统

在光电转换效率方面，目前获得第三方公证的钙钛矿太阳能电池的最高实验室光电转换效率已经达到23.3%，该数值已经超过市场上占主导地位的多晶硅太阳能电池、碲化镉薄膜太阳能电池和铜铟镓硒薄膜太阳能电池，充分展现了其良好的商业化前景和极大的潜在市场价值。在器件稳定性方面，目前已有大量钙钛矿太阳能电池在不同实验条件下（如高温、持续光照、高湿度等）的稳定性数据被报道，已测试10,000小时标准模拟太阳光（不含紫外光）持续照射后，器件未出现明显衰减，该稳定性测试的太阳光辐照量相当于武汉或欧洲大部分地区10年的太阳光辐照量总和。除此之外，针对实际应用所需满足的不同条件下的稳定性测试也在进行中。

在未来钙钛矿太阳能电池研究工作中，进一步探明器件性能衰减机理并提出有效的器件寿命评价标准将成研究重点。与此同时，开发制备高性能大尺寸钙钛矿太阳能电池的技术和工艺也将备受关注。目前，国内外已有大量科研机构及科技公司开展钙钛矿太阳能电池尺寸扩大的技术探索。在此方面，华中科技大学团队所专注的可印刷钙钛矿太阳能电池，基于丝网印刷技术制备，采用廉价的碳材料替代传统的贵金属作为电极材料，因此具有易于扩大化生产及有望实现廉价太阳能发电的技术特点。湖北万度光能有限责任公司所建设的110平米可印刷钙钛矿太阳能电池示范系统充分展示出该项技术良好的应用前景（图1B）。

该工作获得了国家自然科学基金重大研究计划集成项目，重点项目，面上项目，科技部863计划及湖北省科技厅等项目的支持。

More energy from the sun hits the Earth’s surface in an hour than humanity uses each year, making solar power the most promising candidate whenever the future of energy is discussed. The last 25 years transformed solar power from verified oddity to the world’s fastest-expanding energy source. While the photovoltaic (PV) market is still dominated by silicon solar panels, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been considered as a ‘gamechanger’ that can eke out more energy from the sun’s photons and be used more flexibly than today’s panels.

Making from the most abundant mineral on Earth, PSCs became the frontrunner among all emerging PV technologies. From humble beginnings in 2009 with an efficiency of 3.8% and lasted only minutes, the best PSCs now boast an efficiency of 23.3% and can work for thousands of hours under harsh test conditions.

Researchers from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, led by Hongwei Han, have recently reviewed the advances toward commercially viable PSCs and discussed challenges that remain. The work, which can be found on Science(Science, … DOI:), also include contributions from researchers around the world such as Edward H. Sargent at University of Toronto (Canada), Sang Il Seok at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (Korea), and Michael D. McGehee at University of Colorado (USA).

Figure 1. Configurations and application demonstration of PSCs. (A) PSCs have been developed in various device configurations, including mesoscopic, planar, triple mesoscopic and tandem structures. (B) A 110 m2 perovskite PV system with printable triple mesoscopic PSC modules (3600 cm2 for each) was launched by WonderSolar in China.

PSCs can deliver excellent performance alone with device configurations include mesoscopic formal (n-i-p) and inverted (p-i-n) structures, planar formal and inverted structures, and the printable triple mesoscopic structures (shown in Figure 1A). They can also be combined with other existing mature PV technologies, making ‘tandems cells’, to deliver more power than either could manage alone. The notable improvement in both the PSC efficiency and stability in the past few years has helped underpin the rapid progress of single-junction PSCs as well as tandem cells. In particular, a team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), one of the pioneers of perovskite research, has announced 10,000 hours lifetime of printable triple mesoscopic PSCs last year. This equals to the total irradiation of ten years outdoor use in most of Europe, offering more reassurance for PSCs to enter the PV market.

WonderSolar in China announced its latest milestone: a perovskite PV system with printable triple mesoscopic PSC modules that exceeding a total area of 110 m2 (shown in Figure 1B). The system is a testament to two crucial areas of progress in PSCs over the past few years: the devices longevity and their ability to upscale. Further studies of these increased-area modules and systems will expand to cover both fundamental topics on materials and lab-sized cells, and also studies to address issues of industrial-scale manufacturing and deployment.

WonderSolar isn’t the only commercial player in perovskite. Microquanta Semiconductor recently obtained the highest efficiency of rigid perovskite mini-module; Saule Technologies is working on flexible perovskite cells; a consortium that includes Greatcell Solar, Solliance, Oxford PV, Solaronix and Tandem PV is developing stand-alone and tandem cells; and several other companies are in the mix.

Of course, there is no guarantee perovskite will succeed as solar’s new wonder material. The development is still at very early stages, both academic and companies still have technical and production challenges to overcome. This include industry-scale electronic-grade films, recycling methods to address concerns regarding lead toxicity, and the adoption of standardized testing protocols to predict the operation lifetime of PSCs. Modules will need to pass light-induced degradation, potential-induced degradation, partial shade stress, and mechanical shock. The field can benefit from the learning and experience of mature PV technologies as it strives to define, and overcome, the hurdles to PSC commercial impact.