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Integration of two-dimensional materials-based perovskite solar panels into a stand-alone solar farm

Nature Energy volume 7, pages 597–607 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

As a vital step towards the industrialization of perovskite solar cells, outdoor field tests of large-scale perovskite modules and panels represent a mandatory step to be accomplished. Here we demonstrate the manufacturing of large-area (0.5 m2) perovskite solar panels, each containing 40 modules whose interfaces are engineered with two-dimensional materials (GRAphene-PErovskite (GRAPE) panels). We further integrate nine GRAPE panels for a total panel area of 4.5 m2 in a stand-alone solar farm infrastructure with peak power exceeding 250 W, proving the scalability of this technology. We provide insights on the system operation by analysing the panel characteristics as a function of temperature and light intensity. The analysis, carried out over a months-long timescale, highlights the key role of the lamination process of the panels on the entire system degradation. A life-cycle assessment based on primary data indicates the high commercial potential of the GRAPE panel technology in terms of energy and environmental performances.

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Fig. 1: GRAPE modules and panels.
Fig. 2: Integration of GRAPE panels into a stand-alone solar farm.
Fig. 3: Dependence of solar farm electrical characteristics on irradiance.
Fig. 4: Temperature dependence coefficients and outdoor lifetime stability of GRAPE panels.
Fig. 5: LCA of the GRAPE module and solar farm.
Fig. 6: Eco-profiles of electricity generation.

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Data availability

Data generated or analysed during this study are included in the published article and its Supplementary Information and Source Data files. All experimental data collected outdoors in the solar farm have been gathered in an open data repository at HMU and are available at https://solarfarmhmu.gr/. The website includes the weather data of the installation area and the electrical characteristics of GRAPE panels. The online monitoring system of the solar farm presented on the website was built using an in-house developed IV-MPP tracker and commercial IV tracers. Source data are provided with this paper.

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Acknowledgements

The work has been supported by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement numbers 785219—GrapheneCore2 (A.D.C., E.K., L.S. and F.B.) and 881603—GrapheneCore3 (A.D.C., E.K., L.S. and F.B.).

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Sara Pescetelli, Antonio Agresti, George Viskadouros.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CHOSE—Centre for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    Sara Pescetelli, Antonio Agresti, Stefano Razza, Paolo Mariani, Cristina Cornaro & Aldo Di Carlo

  2. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Heraklion, Greece

    George Viskadouros, Konstantinos Rogdakis, Ioannis Kalogerakis, Emmanuel Spiliarotis & Emmanuel Kymakis

  3. Institute of Emerging Technologies, Hellenic Mediterranean University Research Center, Heraklion, Greece

    Konstantinos Rogdakis & Emmanuel Kymakis

  4. GreatCell Solar Italia SRL, Rome, Italy

    Enrico Leonardi & Luca Sorbello

  5. Department of Enterprise Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    Marco Pierro & Cristina Cornaro

  6. EURAC Research, Bolzano, Italy

    Marco Pierro

  7. Graphene Labs, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy

    Sebastiano Bellani, Leyla Najafi, Beatriz Martín-García, Antonio Esaú Del Rio Castillo & Francesco Bonaccorso

  8. BeDimensional S.p.A., Genoa, Italy

    Sebastiano Bellani, Leyla Najafi, Antonio Esaú Del Rio Castillo, Reinier Oropesa-Nuñez & Francesco Bonaccorso

  9. Materials Characterization Facility, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy

    Mirko Prato

  10. Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, R2ES Lab—Research on Renewable Energy and Sustainability, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Simone Maranghi, Maria Laura Parisi, Adalgisa Sinicropi & Riccardo Basosi

  11. LifeCARES srl—Life Cycle Assessment Renewable Energy and Sustainability, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Simone Maranghi, Maria Laura Parisi, Adalgisa Sinicropi & Riccardo Basosi

  12. Istituto di Struttura della Materia (CNR-ISM) National Research Council, Rome, Italy

    Aldo Di Carlo

Authors
  1. Sara Pescetelli
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Contributions

A.D.C., E.K. and F.B. conceived the work. S.P. and A.A. designed, realized and optimized 2D material-based perovskite solar cells and modules by performing the electrical characterizations. S.P. and A.A., developed the module encapsulation procedure. S.R. performed laser scribe ablation for module realization. G.V., K.R., I.K. and E.S. designed and built the solar farm infrastructure and performed in situ electrical panel characterizations. E.L. and L.S. laminated the GRAPE panels. M. Pierro and C.C. performed panel measurements on the ESTER station. S.B., L.N., B.M.-G., A.E.D.R.C., R.O.-N. and M. Prato produced and characterized 2D materials. P.M., S.M., M.L.P., A.S. and R.B. performed LCA. A.D.C., E.K. and F.B. supervised the work. All authors contributed to the discussion of the results and to the writing of the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Francesco Bonaccorso, Emmanuel Kymakis or Aldo Di Carlo.

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Competing interests

F.B. is a co-founder and CSO, and S.B. is a senior scientist at BeDimensional S.p.A., a company that is commercializing 2D materials. L.S. and E.L. are employees of Greatcell Solar Italia, part of the Greatcell Energy Group focused on the commercialization of Perovskite solar technology.

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Peer review information

Nature Energy thanks Ilke Celik, Nam-Gyu Park, Trystan Watson and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Figs. 1–40, Discussion, Tables 1–15, Methods and References 1–49.

Reporting Summary

Supplementary Data 1

a, Statistical analysis of weather variables (temperature) from June 2020 until June 2021 at the installation field (0.5 m2 for each panel). b, Statistical analysis of weather variables (relative humidity) from June 2020 until June 2021 at the installation field (0.5 m2 for each panel). c, Statistical analysis of weather variables (panel temperature) from June 2020 until June 2021 at the installation field (0.5 m2 for each panel). d, Statistical analysis of weather variables (wind speed) from June 2020 until June 2021 at the installation field (0.5 m2 for each panel).

Source data

Source Data Fig. 1

Statistical distribution of the PCE data recorded for the PSMs.

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Pescetelli, S., Agresti, A., Viskadouros, G. et al. Integration of two-dimensional materials-based perovskite solar panels into a stand-alone solar farm. Nat Energy 7, 597–607 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-022-01035-4

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