Advanced Photovoltaics

Solar energy presents a promising avenue for transitioning toward clean energy and fostering a sustainable circular carbon economy. However, the cost-competitiveness of the energy harnessed through current solar technologies, which predominantly rely on single-junction cells, lags behind fossil fuel energy sources, thereby slowing down the pace of the energy transition. Moreover, the market-dominant photovoltaic cells are energy-intensive to fabricate and require high temperatures (~1450°C) to recycle. To bridge this gap and accelerate the shift, there is an urgent need to innovate and enhance solar technology through the development of efficient two-junction and triple-junction cells with lower CO2 footprint materials, which have a much higher theoretical efficiency than single-junction cells. These advanced cells are pivotal in achieving superior efficiencies and lowering the costs associated with solar energy production.

In response to this challenge, this research area is dedicated to pioneering scalable, stable and cost-effective polycrystalline thin-film perovskite-based tandem and triple junction solar cell technologies.

This initiative will place Saudi Arabia at the forefront of advanced photovoltaic technologies with the potential for global leadership in deploying high-efficiency solar power worldwide and meeting its CO2 emission goals for the Kingdom