5 ms·

There's a company in Europe, Saule Technologies [1], that is claiming to be already capable of large scale commercialization of perovskites. It seems you can ev

There's a company in Europe, Saule Technologies [1], that is claiming to be already capable of large scale commercialization of perovskites. It seems you can even buy/license it (B2B). The article seems to suggest that the biggest obstacle for market-readiness for this type of product is endurance. However, Saule on their FAQ website are claiming that their products have an initial lifetime of several years [2]. I also found this article from MIT Technology Review [3] where it's stated that "Oxford PV, Microquanta, and Saule all say they’ve solved the stability issue, at least well enough to sell their first products." So, who's right? Is the article overstating the stability problem or are these companies over-promising? [1] - https://sauletech.com/technology/ https://sauletech.com/technology/ [2] - https://sauletech.com/faq/ https://sauletech.com/faq/ [3] - https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/06/29/1027451/perovskite-solar-panels-hype-commercial-debut https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/06/29/1027451/perovski...

modeless 5y ago
> Is the article overstating the stability problem or are these companies over-promising? I think neither. "Several years" is still a huge problem. That's way too short.
- lrem 5y ago
  Could be good for some hobbyist deployments though.
- ajuc 5y ago
  Good enough for consumer electronics/wearables maybe.
- jaclaz 5y ago
  Unless the product is very, very cheap and can be easily replaced periodically. Just thinking aloud, but think about a (very, very) large (traditional) camera, you have this roll of film that you advance one frame at the time, and then expose to sunlight. Once every - say - two or three years, when it doesn't produce anymore enough electricity, you advance one frame and once every (say) ten or twenty years, you change the film roll.
  - Gravityloss 5y ago
    There's probably multiple local minima. You could integrate solar stuff into structures. Then it probably has to be pretty long lived. This is because solar is getting cheap anyway and it doesn't cost much more to make a wall a solar panel while you're building a wall anyway - most of the cost of the panel is the supporting structure and installation anyway - which have to be there for the wall and are thus paid for already. On the other hand maybe you can have flimsy solar stuff that's more like an umbrella or parasol or awning and could be replaced every few years. You could have it even leased. Return the old one for recycling. Maybe it's taken off during the winter entirely. It's dark in the winter anyway and it would be too expensive to make it so sturdy that it can handle snow. If it's destroyed by a storm, no big deal, get a new one. We have a work bee twice per year where a lot of people from the condominium company trim bushes, fell trees, rake, pick up waste etc. Why not put up a few solar panels on top of the garages for the summer at the same time? And take them off in October then.
jakozaur 5y ago
I follow Saule Technologies. They solve stability for few years. Great for Internet of Things such as price tag in shop. Competitor to batteries. However this is not good enough when 25+ Years lifetime is required (residential or utility scale). Another niche use case is quantum glass by ML System. Generate energy from windows. Great for IoT, smart windows, new buildings, cars, but energy density is fraction of typical PV panels. https://mlsystem.pl/q-glass-dla-branzy-automotive/?lang=en https://mlsystem.pl/q-glass-dla-branzy-automotive/?lang=en

modeless 5y ago

> Is the article overstating the stability problem or are these companies over-promising? I think neither. "Several years" is still a huge problem. That's way too short.

lrem 5y ago
Could be good for some hobbyist deployments though.
ajuc 5y ago
Good enough for consumer electronics/wearables maybe.
jaclaz 5y ago
Unless the product is very, very cheap and can be easily replaced periodically. Just thinking aloud, but think about a (very, very) large (traditional) camera, you have this roll of film that you advance one frame at the time, and then expose to sunlight. Once every - say - two or three years, when it doesn't produce anymore enough electricity, you advance one frame and once every (say) ten or twenty years, you change the film roll.
- Gravityloss 5y ago
  There's probably multiple local minima. You could integrate solar stuff into structures. Then it probably has to be pretty long lived. This is because solar is getting cheap anyway and it doesn't cost much more to make a wall a solar panel while you're building a wall anyway - most of the cost of the panel is the supporting structure and installation anyway - which have to be there for the wall and are thus paid for already. On the other hand maybe you can have flimsy solar stuff that's more like an umbrella or parasol or awning and could be replaced every few years. You could have it even leased. Return the old one for recycling. Maybe it's taken off during the winter entirely. It's dark in the winter anyway and it would be too expensive to make it so sturdy that it can handle snow. If it's destroyed by a storm, no big deal, get a new one. We have a work bee twice per year where a lot of people from the condominium company trim bushes, fell trees, rake, pick up waste etc. Why not put up a few solar panels on top of the garages for the summer at the same time? And take them off in October then.

jakozaur 5y ago

I follow Saule Technologies. They solve stability for few years. Great for Internet of Things such as price tag in shop. Competitor to batteries. However this is not good enough when 25+ Years lifetime is required (residential or utility scale). Another niche use case is quantum glass by ML System. Generate energy from windows. Great for IoT, smart windows, new buildings, cars, but energy density is fraction of typical PV panels. https://mlsystem.pl/q-glass-dla-branzy-automotive/?lang=en https://mlsystem.pl/q-glass-dla-branzy-automotive/?lang=en