Perovskite-silicon solar cell research collaboration hits 25.2% efficiency
Perovskite-based tandem solar cells can achieve now efficiencies better than 25%. © HZB
A 1 cm2 perovskite silicon tandem solar cell achieves an independently certified efficiency of 25.2 %. This was presented this week at an international conference in Hawaii, USA. The cell was developed jointly by HZB, Oxford University and Oxford PV - The Perovskite CompanyTM.
"Perovskite-based tandem solar cells can use light particularly efficiently and therefore offer the opportunity to achieve even higher efficiencies. That is why we have significantly expanded our expertise with the new Helmholtz innovation laboratory HySPRINT," says Prof. Dr. Rutger Schlatmann, Director of the Competence Center Thin Film and Nanotechnology for Photovoltaics Berlin (PVcomB) at HZB. "In our cooperation with Oxford PV, we aim to further optimize perovskite silicon tandem cells, demonstrate their scalability and facilitate their integration into large-area solar modules. For this new result we have optimized our high-efficiency silicon heterojunction bottom cell and developed an optical adaptation to the top cell using a very specific SiOx intermediate layer".
At the World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, WCPEC-7 in Waikoloa, Hawaii, tandem solar cells involving perovskites were an important topic: two records have been presented with 25.2% certified efficiency: one from the group of Prof. Christophe Ballif at EPFL/CSEM and one from the consortium HZB/OxfordPV/Oxford University, presented by HZB scientist Dr. Bernd Stannowski. The third one, with 25.0% certified efficiency is a tandem cell developed by an HZB team headed by Dr. Steve Albrecht.
Oxford PV was established in 2010 and has had a close working relationship with Professor Snaith’s research group at the University of Oxford. In January 2018, Oxford PV announced its collaboration with HZB, the leading German research centre focused on energy materials research.
Press Release by Oxford PV
More Information on PVcomB at HZB
More Information on HySPRINT at HZB
More Information on the group Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics at University of Oxford
- A New Era in Catalysis: ASCEND Launch in Berlin, €30 Million in FundingOn 11 June 2026, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) in Adlershof hosted the launch of ASCEND (Accelerated Solutions for Catalysis using Emerging Nanotechnology and Digital Innovation). The event took place in the presence of the Minister of Research, Dorothee Bär, President of the Helmholtz Association, Prof. Dr. Martin Keller, and President of the Max Planck Society, Prof. Dr. Patrick Cramer. Bringing together leading partners from industry and research, ASCEND is supported by BMFTR with €30 million in funding and officially started on 1 April 2026. The initiative aims to accelerate the discovery of next-generation catalysts and enable more sustainable chemical processes.
- X-ray analysis reveals overpainted fascist symbolsErich Mercker was a successful painter during the Nazi era and in the years that followed. After 1945, he covered up Nazi symbols in at least one of his paintings. With an interdisciplinary team, physicist Dr Ioanna Mantouvalou reports on this study in the Nature Journal Heritage Science.
- Magnon momentum microscopy: A new window into nanoscale spin-wavesAn international team lead by the Max Born Institute has developed a new type of momentum microscopy to image magnons — the quanta of collectively excited spins — directly in two-dimensional reciprocal space using soft X-rays. Measurements have taken place at BESSY II and PETRA III, first author ist the HZB physicist Steffen Wittrock. Owing to its remarkable sensitivity, simplicity, and access to nanometer-scale wavelengths, this novel technique establishes a powerful and versatile platform for exploring nonlinear magnon interactions, which are promising for future computing schemes.