For printed photovoltaics to succeed, they must move quickly from the lab bench to the factory floor. Here at SPECIFIC, our teams are developing a range of solar cell technologies and processing techniques that will allow high-efficiency thin-film printed photovoltaics to be manufactured at scale using earth-abundant, low cost materials.

We are also working to understand the stability and lifetime of these devices, by characterising their degradation mechanisms and finding ways to improve longevity for the ultimate goal of commercialisation.

Our world-class facilities are designed for the scale-up of solar technologies from lab to full-scale. We consider ourselves ‘technology agnostic’, which means that we work with the most promising photovoltaic technologies to find ways to manufacture them at scale. Currently we have research teams working on four distinct technologies at Swansea University: perovskites, CZTS (copper, zinc, tin, sulphur), organic photovoltaics and dye sensitised solar cells.

We collaborate with researchers across the world including Imperial College London, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Warwick and University of Sheffield.

Printed Photovoltaics Case Studies

• World’s First Fully Roll-to-Roll Printed Perovskite Solar Cell
• A Safer, Greener Way to Make Solar Cells
• Organic Photovoltaics (OPV) for Indoor Application
• Largest Fully Printed Perovskite Module

Collaborators: Airbus Endeavr Wales, Armor, Queen Mary University of London, Soochow University, Cinvestav, MIT

Contacts

• Prof Trystan Watson – Photovoltaics Scale-up and Processing Lead
• Professor Matthew Davies – Applied Photochemistry and the Circular Economy Lead
• Professor Matt Carnie – Photovoltaic Materials, Thermoelectrics and Device Physics Lead
• Dr Wing Chung Tsoi – Organic Photovoltaics and Perovskite Lead