This week's most significant developments were concentrated in perovskite and tandem photovoltaics, with a clear shift away from pure efficiency records toward stability, degradation mechanisms, interfaces, and commercialization challenges. On the industrial side, TOPCon, HJT, silver reduction, bifacial modules, and PV-plus-storage projects dominated announcements.
The overall picture is encouraging: laboratory research is increasingly addressing the exact issues that currently limit commercialization, while industry continues to improve the cost, reliability, and scalability of silicon-based technologies.
Most important new publications
Omnidirectional ionic locking network for stable perovskite photovoltaics
PaperNature Photonics
A Nature Photonics paper reports a strategy to suppress ion migration in perovskite solar cells using a 2D nanomesh surrounding 3D perovskite grains. The authors achieved a certified efficiency of 27.01% while demonstrating strong operational stability under prolonged illumination and thermal cycling. Why it matters: stability — not efficiency — is currently the key bottleneck for commercial perovskite PV. This work addresses one of the most fundamental degradation mechanisms.
Strategic development of stable and efficient lead-free perovskite solar cells
PaperCommunications Materials
This review summarizes the state of lead-free perovskites, particularly tin-based absorbers. While environmental and regulatory advantages remain attractive, substantial efficiency and stability gaps persist compared with lead-based systems. Why it matters: long-term deployment of perovskite technology may depend on reducing or eliminating lead content, but commercial viability remains distant.
Demonstration of overcoming 20% efficiency in kesterite/perovskite tandem solar cells on rigid and flexible substrates
PaperCommunications Materials
Researchers report tandem devices combining kesterite and perovskite absorbers with efficiencies exceeding 20% on both rigid and flexible substrates. Why it matters: most tandem research focuses on perovskite/silicon architectures. This work highlights alternative tandem routes based on earth-abundant materials and flexible applications.
Potential-Induced Degradation in Perovskite Photovoltaics Mitigated by Positive-Voltage Systems
PaperACS Energy Letters
This ACS Energy Letters publication investigates PID in encapsulated perovskite devices under ±1000 V stress conditions. Why it matters: perovskite technologies must prove reliability not only as cells but as modules operating under realistic system voltages. PID is a critical bankability issue for future deployment.
Transparent conducting electrodes for perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells
PaperNature Reviews Physics
A comprehensive review discusses transparent conductive electrodes for tandem devices, covering optical losses, conductivity, stability, and manufacturing compatibility. Why it matters: transparent electrodes are becoming a major engineering bottleneck for industrial tandem cells and modules.
Taking perovskite photovoltaics from promise to product
PaperNature (Perspective)
This perspective focuses on commercialization challenges including stability, encapsulation, quality control, scaling, and manufacturing reproducibility. Why it matters: it provides a realistic assessment of what still separates laboratory success from commercial products.
Deprotonation suppressing via competitive proton transfer control for efficient perovskite solar cells
PaperNature Communications
The authors demonstrate molecular-level control of proton-transfer reactions to reduce defect formation and improve device performance. Why it matters: the work reflects a broader trend toward chemically engineered stability rather than relying solely on encapsulation strategies.
Key press releases and industry news
CEA-Liten reports silver consumption of only 7 mg/Wp
PressCEA-Liten
CEA-Liten announced progress in reducing silver use in heterojunction module interconnection technology to approximately 7 mg/Wp. Why it matters: silver availability is increasingly viewed as a strategic constraint for multi-terawatt PV deployment. Material efficiency is becoming as important as efficiency improvements.
JinkoSolar secures 500 MW Tiger Neo 3.0 order in South Korea
Marketpv magazine International / JinkoSolar
JinkoSolar announced a major order for its latest TOPCon modules, highlighting mass-production cell efficiencies above 27% and module efficiencies approaching 25%. Why it matters: despite the excitement around perovskites, TOPCon remains the dominant high-performance commercial technology.
New HJT and TOPCon product launches ahead of Intersolar Europe 2026
PressSolarQuarter / PES Europe
Several manufacturers announced new high-power bifacial HJT and TOPCon modules as well as integrated storage products. Why it matters: module manufacturers increasingly compete through complete energy-system offerings rather than module performance alone.
Industry reporting on the latest PVEL scorecard indicates that many manufacturers failed at least one reliability test. Why it matters: reliability and bankability continue to differentiate suppliers more strongly than headline power ratings.
Major PV-plus-storage projects in Latin America
Marketpv magazine International
Several large-scale projects and auctions were announced, including utility-scale solar plants paired with battery storage. Why it matters: growth is increasingly occurring through integrated generation-storage systems rather than standalone PV assets.
Visible trends
Stability is now the central perovskite research topic. The most influential papers addressed ion migration, PID, interfaces, electrode design, thermal stress, and degradation mechanisms rather than record efficiencies.
Tandem PV research is broadening. While perovskite/silicon remains dominant, alternative tandem architectures are attracting increasing attention due to sustainability and resource considerations.
Silicon remains the industrial reality. The most commercially relevant announcements continue to come from TOPCon and HJT manufacturers, not perovskite producers.
Material efficiency is becoming strategically important. Silver consumption, metallization strategies, and critical-material usage are emerging as major topics for terawatt-scale deployment.
PV is increasingly viewed as a system technology. Storage integration, grid services, floating PV, hydrogen coupling, and dispatchable renewable power are becoming central themes alongside module development.
Bottom line
The most important scientific message this week is that perovskite research is increasingly focused on solving commercialization barriers rather than chasing efficiency records. Several high-quality publications addressed stability, degradation, and real-world operating conditions.
The most important industrial message is that TOPCon and HJT continue to dominate commercial deployment while manufacturers focus on material reduction, reliability, and storage integration.
For R&D organizations, the strongest signal is clear: future breakthroughs are likely to come from improved durability, manufacturability, and system integration rather than incremental efficiency gains alone.
Previous scans
Scan
May 18 – May 25, 2026
Weekly PV Radar
May 18 – May 25, 2026 · manual digest
This week's most important photovoltaic developments, across May 18 to May 25, 2026, point in a consistent direction: the strongest scientific work is centered on perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells, especially scalable processing, interface control, and operational stability. On the news side, the most relevant signals are not just new device results, but also stronger evidence that PV is becoming more important at the power-system level and may still be under-counted in official statistics.
Most important new publications
Scalable vacuum processing for perovskite-silicon tandems
PaperNature Energy
A Nature Energy paper reports a close-space sublimation route for tandem fabrication that avoids the usual solution-based processing bottlenecks. The headline efficiencies are not the main story here; the real importance is that this looks much closer to a manufacturing-compatible deposition path, which matters for translation from lab records to industrial throughput.
Green processing and life-cycle thinking move closer to the center of perovskite PV research
PaperNature Communications
A Nature Communications paper combines AI-driven process optimization with life-cycle assessment for perovskite solar cells. The key takeaway is that the field is maturing beyond "highest efficiency wins" and is paying more attention to process sustainability, solvent choices, and realistic environmental burden.
Reverse-bias stability gets direct attention
PaperNature Communications
Another Nature Communications paper addresses one of the more practical reliability problems in perovskite PV: degradation under reverse bias, which can occur under partial shading and module mismatch. That makes this a scientifically important result, because it targets a real operating failure mode, not just a lab-performance metric.
Nearly 33% efficient perovskite-silicon tandems through selective passivation
PaperMatter
A Matter paper reports selective passivation of pyramid peaks on textured silicon, with 32.89% certified efficiency and improved stability under maximum power point operation. The technical advance is important because it tackles leakage and interfacial losses on textured, more industry-relevant silicon surfaces, which is one of the tougher tandem integration problems.
Key press releases and news
Press release highlights tandem commercialization relevance
PressEurekAlert!
The EurekAlert release accompanying the Matter paper is useful because it frames the result in practical terms: leakage on pyramid-textured silicon is a real obstacle for monolithic tandem commercialization. As a press source it is not primary evidence on its own, but it accurately surfaces why the underlying paper matters.
Wind and solar moved ahead of gas globally in April
Market2026-05-22pv magazine International / Ember
According to an Ember-based report covered by pv magazine, wind and solar together generated more electricity globally than gas in April 2026. This is broader than photovoltaics alone, but it is still one of the week's most important context signals because it shows how rapidly solar is moving from a growth technology to a system-defining one.
Rooftop PV generation in the EU may be substantially underreported
Market2026-05-23pv magazine International / SolarPower Europe
A pv magazine report citing SolarPower Europe argues that official EU data may significantly understate rooftop PV output. If that estimate holds up, the implication is important: distributed solar may already be contributing more to the electricity mix than standard reporting suggests, which affects policy, grid planning, and market interpretation.
Ultrathin TOPCon shows a niche but meaningful direction
Press2026-05-22pv magazine International
A pv magazine item on a 19.7%-efficient ultrathin "biPoly" TOPCon cell is not as important as the tandem papers above, but it is still worth watching. It suggests continued interest in lighter, thinner silicon devices for applications where weight, flexibility, or form factor matter more than absolute peak efficiency.
Visible trends
Perovskite-silicon tandems remain the center of gravity for frontier PV research; within that theme, the field is shifting from pure record-chasing toward the harder questions of manufacturability, textured-silicon compatibility, and long-term operating stability.
Sustainability and life-cycle performance are becoming more central in serious perovskite work.
PV is increasingly being discussed not just as a device technology, but as a major electricity-system resource whose real contribution may still be under-measured.
Bottom line
This week's strongest PV findings do not mainly say "solar cells got another fraction of a percent better." They say something more important: the best new work is starting to address the bottlenecks that determine whether advanced PV, especially tandems, can become scalable, durable, and system-relevant. That is a stronger signal of technological maturity than efficiency numbers alone.
Scan
May 11 – May 18, 2026
Weekly PV Radar
May 11 – May 18, 2026 · manual digest
For the period from May 11 to May 18, 2026, three things stand out. First, perovskite photovoltaics remain the most scientifically dynamic field, especially at the intersection of efficiency, stability, and scaling. Second, the industry focus is shifting noticeably from pure capacity expansion toward system integration, grid compatibility, and operational risk. Third, circular economy issues are becoming more visible in photovoltaics, especially recycling and material recovery.
Most important new publications
Stereoelectronic manipulation of ligands for perovskite solar cells
Paper2026-05-13Nature
The paper addresses interfacial losses between the perovskite and transport layers through specifically designed ligands with a more favorable binding geometry. What makes it especially important from a technical perspective is the combination of very high cell performance and long-term outdoor stability demonstrated at module level; this is closer to industrially relevant questions than many purely record-driven studies.
Selective iodoplumbate cold casting for kinetically stabilized perovskites leading to high-efficiency photovoltaic modules
Paper2026-05-12Nature Synthesis
The authors present a new synthesis route for kinetically stabilized perovskites and use it to demonstrate a 50 cm² mini-module with 22.15% efficiency and 1,200 hours T90 under maximum power point operation at around 50 °C. This is especially relevant because the focus is not only on cell efficiency, but also on scalable module processing and stability.
Trapezoidal structure for enhancing absorption in upright ultra-thin crystalline silicon solar cells
Paper2026-05-12Results in Engineering
In contrast to the strong perovskite focus, this paper shows that ultra-thin crystalline silicon still has room for innovation. Its core contribution is light management through trapezoidal structures, which is intended to enable high absorption and a reported power conversion efficiency of 20.9% in an ultra-thin crystalline silicon architecture; this is particularly interesting for material savings and new form factors.
Key press releases and news
NTU Singapore: Nearly invisible solar cells for windows
Press2026-05-14EurekAlert! / NTU
Scientifically, this is not a brand-new paper from the week itself, but the announcement is still relevant because it places semi-transparent, very thin perovskite cells for building-integrated photovoltaics and solar windows in an application-oriented context. The reported values remain clearly below those of conventional high-performance photovoltaics, but they are interesting for facade integration.
Tsinghua University Press: Additive against defects in perovskite solar cells
Press2026-05-13EurekAlert! / Tsinghua University Press
Press release dated May 13, 2026 about a paper that had already appeared in March. The content focuses on an additive for defect passivation that is intended to improve efficiency and durability. From a technical standpoint, this is more of a solid incremental advance than a directional shift, but it fits well into the broader trend: stability is increasingly being fine-tuned chemically and at the interface level.
IEA-PVPS: Solar approaches 3 TW, but integration is becoming the bottleneck
Market2026-05-14pv magazine International / IEA-PVPS
This is probably the most important system-level news item of the week. At the end of 2025, cumulative global photovoltaic capacity stood at around 2,974 GW according to IEA-PVPS, while curtailment, negative prices, grid connection, and storage needs are becoming more important. This is the key context for almost all market and technology developments.
Texas: PV generation is expected to overtake coal in 2026
Market2026-05-16pv magazine International / EIA
This is less about symbolism than structural change: in the ERCOT market, solar is expected to deliver more electricity than coal this year according to an EIA forecast. The news matters because it shows that photovoltaics in large markets are moving from being a supplementary technology to becoming a central pillar of power supply.
Solar Risk Assessment 2026: Operational and quality risks are moving to the forefront
Market2026-05-14pv magazine International / kWh Analytics
kWh Analytics and partners are shifting the focus away from abstract weather risks toward plant-level failure causes: connectors, junction boxes, hail resilience, tracker loads, inverters, and battery energy storage system HVAC. This is highly relevant for practice and project finance because bankability will likely depend more strongly on field reliability in the future.
Spain: High PV and wind penetration is changing the price impact of PPAs
Market2026-05-15pv magazine International
A peer-reviewed study suggests that physical renewable energy contracts may, in periods of high penetration, also increase spot prices rather than dampen them as they did in the past. This is more important for PPAs, power marketing, and market design than it may seem at first glance.
Laser delamination of end-of-life modules
Press2026-05-13pv magazine International
Continuous-wave infrared laser technology enables damage-free backsheet removal in end-of-life solar modules — supporting evidence for the broader recycling trend.
Offshore floating photovoltaics in Italy
Press2026-05-14pv magazine International
Offshore floating PV could technically meet Italy's electricity demand — supporting evidence for the systemic-integration trend.
Visible trends
Perovskite research is maturing: fewer pure laboratory records, more focus on interfaces, operational stability, and mini-module and module scaling.
Photovoltaics are becoming more systemic: grids, storage, curtailment, price formation, and flexible marketing are moving more strongly into the foreground.
Reliability is becoming a competitive factor: quality and operations and maintenance topics are becoming more important for returns and insurability.
Recycling and material efficiency are gaining visibility: for example in end-of-life modules, silver reduction, and material recovery.
Bottom line
In short: the week was defined less by a single spectacular record and more by a clear pattern: photovoltaics continue to scale, but the decisive questions are shifting from "how high is the efficiency?" to "how stable, integrable, financeable, and circular is the technology?"
Scan
May 4 – May 11, 2026
Weekly PV Radar
May 4 – May 11, 2026 · manual digest
For the period May 4 to May 11, 2026, the most important scientific developments in photovoltaics were again concentrated around perovskite and perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. The overall picture is fairly clear: the field is moving beyond pure efficiency records toward stability, manufacturability, reverse-bias resilience, and more industry-relevant device structures. On the industry side, the main themes were scale-up, supply-chain policy, and recycling/circularity.
Most important new publications
Perovskite/TOPCon tandems with a more robust interface
PaperNature Communications
The paper Carbon-incorporated polysilicon interconnection layer enables robust self-assembled monolayer anchoring for perovskite/TOPCon tandem solar cells reports improved anchoring of SAM layers on textured TOPCon surfaces. It reports 33.84% peak efficiency, 33.50% certified, and 80% retained performance after 800 hours. This is especially relevant because it addresses a major integration problem for tandems on industry-relevant silicon architectures.
Reverse-bias stability is becoming a module-level priority
PaperNature Energy
Molecular-templated pre-assembly of self-assembled monolayer for perovskite solar cells and modules with improved reverse-bias stability, published in Nature Energy, focuses not only on cell efficiency but also on reliability under partial shading and reverse-bias conditions. It reports 24.0% mini-module efficiency and 23.2% certified steady-state efficiency, and suggests that a single bypass diode can protect at least 16 subcells. From a practical standpoint, that may matter more than a simple lab efficiency record.
All-perovskite tandems: surface processing as a lever for efficiency and stability
PaperNature Communications
Non-contact laser polishing and reconstruction towards high-efficiency all-perovskite tandem solar cells uses non-contact laser polishing plus reconstruction of the Sn-Pb perovskite surface. The reported results are 23.47% certified efficiency for the single cell and 29.80% for the tandem, with 80% retained performance after 650 hours of operation. Scientifically, this stands out because it tackles a manufacturing and interface issue rather than only material composition.
Inverted perovskites with strong emphasis on fill factor and low-solvent processing
PaperNature Communications
Liquid-derived, solvent-free vapor-mediated dimensional reconstruction yields a record fill factor in inverted perovskite solar cells reports 26.71% peak efficiency, 26.15% certified, and a fill factor of 89.13%, plus 25.32% at 1 cm². The main importance here is that defect passivation is achieved without the usual solvent-heavy steps, which could matter for scaling.
1D/3D heterostructures remain important, now with a clearer stability case
PaperNature Communications
Vertically oriented 1D/3D heterojunction for efficient and stable inverted perovskite solar cells uses a deliberately vertically oriented 1D capping layer. It reports 26.0% certified efficiency, along with 83% retained performance after 500 hours at 85 °C and 86% after 1200 hours of continuous illumination. This is not the absolute weekly record, but it is a credible step toward combining efficiency with robustness.
Interface engineering with module relevance
PaperNature Communications
Highly efficient and stable perovskite photovoltaics enabled by multifunctional crosslinked n+-type interlayer reports 26.34% efficiency, 26.27% certified, and 22.03% for a 25 cm² module. The main contribution is a multifunctional interlayer that combines defect passivation, energy-level alignment, and mechanical stabilization.
Key press releases and news
Fraunhofer ISE expands tandem scale-up infrastructure
Press2026-05-06pv magazine International
The report Fraunhofer ISE opens perovskite-silicon tandem scale-up lab says Fraunhofer ISE launched the Pero-Si-SCALE infrastructure for scale-up to 210 mm × 210 mm and more industry-relevant processing. This is a strong signal that tandem PV is being pushed further from lab-scale research toward manufacturing logic.
Recycling is becoming a more serious PV industry topic
Press2026-05-06pv magazine International
According to PV module recycling technologies 'progressing', says IEA-PVPS, the new IEA-PVPS report points to measurable progress in recovery rates, yields, and material purity. This is not the loudest headline of the week, but strategically it matters because recycling is moving from a side topic to a real part of the PV industrial system.
U.S. module manufacturing capacity continues to grow
MarketPR Newswire
SEG Solar Announces New US 4 GW Solar Module Factory states that SEG announced a new 4 GW module factory in Houston; together with its existing site, that would bring it to about 6 GW of U.S. capacity. The significance is mainly industrial capacity expansion rather than a technology breakthrough.
Policy risk is now shaping manufacturing momentum
MarketInvesting.com / Reuters
Reuters reported in Trump's crackdown on China-linked solar firms stalls U.S. factory boom that uncertainty around China links and subsidy eligibility is slowing financing, insurance, and procurement for parts of U.S. solar manufacturing. This matters because supply-chain regulation is increasingly shaping which PV technologies and manufacturers can actually scale.
Visible trends
Stability is now a central research target, not a side metric.
Interface engineering remains the main performance lever.
Tandems are moving more clearly toward industrialization.
Module-level evidence is becoming more important than small-cell records alone.
Circularity and manufacturing policy are moving closer to the technological core of the PV sector.
Bottom line
The main message from this week is that perovskite photovoltaics are maturing. The strongest papers are no longer just about squeezing out another fraction of a percent in efficiency, but about turning those gains into robust, scalable, module-relevant systems. On the industry side, momentum remains strong, but manufacturing and supply-chain policy are becoming almost as important as the underlying technology itself.
Scan
Week ending May 4, 2026
Weekly PV Radar
Week ending May 4, 2026
This week's strongest research signal in photovoltaics is not simply another record device. The more important pattern is that high-impact papers are converging on the same bottleneck: making perovskite and tandem concepts more stable, more controllable at interfaces, and more credible on the path from lab efficiency to durable deployment.
Outside the journals, the market signal is different but complementary. Recycling capacity, utility-scale solar-plus-storage procurement, trade policy, and continued pressure on manufacturing margins all point to a PV sector that is scaling fast but becoming more structurally complex.
Papers
Continuously graded-doped SnO2 for efficient n-i-p perovskite solar cells
Paper2026-04-30Nature
This Nature paper addresses one of the central technical constraints in conventional n-i-p perovskite cells: non-radiative recombination at the buried electron-transport interface. The authors report a continuously graded SnO2 electron transport layer that improves band alignment and charge extraction, alongside a certified steady-state efficiency of 27.17% for the cell architecture, 25.79% at 1 cm², and 23.33% for a 16.02 cm² module. Scientifically, this is a strong sign that scalable n-i-p devices still have real headroom.
Bypassing the yellow phase for extremely stable formamidinium lead iodide perovskite solar cells
Paper2026-04-30Science
This Science paper goes directly after one of the biggest perovskite commercialization barriers: phase instability in FAPbI3-based devices. The work shows a route to stabilize the black phase and avoid degradation through the inactive yellow phase. According to the associated publication and institutional release, the devices retained 98% of their initial efficiency after 1,200 hours of accelerated aging at 90 °C under open-circuit conditions, making this a relevant durability result rather than just an academic curiosity.
Self-assembled 1D/3D heterojunction enables all-inorganic perovskite 4-terminal tandem solar cells with 21.54% certified efficiency
Paper2026-04-27Nature Communications
This Nature Communications paper reports a certified 21.54% efficiency for an all-inorganic perovskite four-terminal tandem configuration. The key importance is less about a headline record and more about platform maturity. It strengthens the case that all-inorganic tandem routes deserve sustained attention where reliability and long-term operation matter as much as peak efficiency.
Press
Rice University highlights a stability advance in Science
Press2026-04-30EurekAlert!
Rice University's release on the Science paper above is worth attention because it communicates a genuinely important result without materially overselling it. The core message is that additive engineering can help FAPbI3 perovskites reach the desired black phase faster while resisting degradation into the yellow phase. Because the release is tied to a peer-reviewed paper in Science, it serves as a credible amplification of a high-value research result.
A perovskite device that works as both solar cell and LED
Press2026-04-28EurekAlert!
A University of Colorado Boulder release points to a Joule study on a perovskite diode that reportedly reaches 26.7% efficiency as a solar cell and 31% as a light-emitting device. This is not the most commercially immediate PV story of the week, but it is an interesting indicator of how perovskite optoelectronics are expanding beyond single-function device design.
Market
PV recycling moves from concept to infrastructure
Market2026-04-29pv magazine International
Rosi announced plans to build a new 10,000-tonne-per-year PV module recycling facility in Teruel, Spain. That matters because it turns circularity from a long-term discussion topic into physical industrial capacity, with recovery targets that include silver, silicon, copper, aluminum, and glass.
Utility-scale PV is increasingly procured together with storage
Market2026-05-01pv magazine International
Salt River Project and NextEra Energy Resources signed a deal covering 3 GW of solar and 1 GW of battery storage in Arizona. The significance is not just the size of the transaction. It shows that large PV additions are now routinely framed as dispatch-aware system assets rather than stand-alone generation projects.
Manufacturing scale still does not guarantee healthy economics
Market2026-05-01pv magazine International
Longi and Trina Solar both reported continued losses and margin pressure despite enormous shipment volumes. That reinforces a persistent market reality: technology leadership and scale remain essential, but in this phase of the cycle they do not automatically translate into profitability.
Trade policy is becoming a bigger structuring force in PV supply chains
Market2026-04-27pv magazine International
The U.S. Department of Commerce issued preliminary anti-dumping determinations on crystalline silicon photovoltaic imports from India, Indonesia, and Laos. The immediate point is not only tariff exposure. It is the growing likelihood that module sourcing, upstream localization, and policy risk management will shape project economics more directly over the next phase of deployment.
Trends
Perovskite research is maturing from pure efficiency chasing toward durability and interface control.
Tandem and all-inorganic pathways remain active because stability is now a first-order selection criterion.
PV circularity is becoming operational.
Solar-plus-storage is hardening into the default utility-scale build model.
Policy and trade are increasingly entangled with manufacturing strategy.
Relevance
For research teams, the week confirms that the center of gravity in advanced PV is shifting toward bankability questions: stable materials, reliable interfaces, scalable architectures, and performance that survives realistic stress.
For companies, the message is equally clear. The next stage of PV competition will not be decided by module output alone, but by who can combine technology, supply chain resilience, recycling readiness, storage integration, and policy navigation into a workable industrial model.