From Zaragoza to Okinawa: new approaches to improving the stability of perovskite solar cells

During the seminar “From the Lab to the Rooftop and Back to Okinawa: Operational Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells with Open Hardware (Perovskino + ParaSol)”, Emilio Juárez-Pérez addressed one of the main challenges facing perovskite photovoltaic technologies: extending their operational lifetime while maintaining their high efficiency.

The presentation connected findings from his research period at OIST with ongoing developments at the Open Solar Stability Lab of the Institute of Nanoscience and Materials of Aragón (INMA). Topics discussed included degradation pathways in hybrid perovskites and the identification of compounds released during these processes, research that has contributed to a better understanding of material stability.

The seminar also introduced Perovskino, an Arduino-based open-source tool for maximum-power-point tracking, and ParaSol, an outdoor testing platform developed in Zaragoza to assess photovoltaic devices under real environmental conditions. Among the results presented was the operation of a perovskite-based solar cell for more than 430 days without measurable performance loss.

As a future perspective, Emilio Juárez-Pérez proposed the combined use of Zaragoza’s semi-arid climate and Okinawa’s subtropical marine climate as complementary testing environments for studying perovskite stability. This approach could help accelerate the development of more robust photovoltaic technologies and support their future large-scale deployment.