PEPPERONI
PEPPERONI accelerates the market entry and mass production of perovskite/silicon tandem photovoltaics in Europe by removing manufacturing barriers and establishing a pilot line, paving the way for cost-efficient, resource-efficient PV production and European technological leadership.
Project Partners
- Polymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH (PCCL)
- QCells - Coordinator
- Helmoltz Zentrum Berlin (HZB)
- Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM)
- Kauno Technologijos Universitetas (KTU)
- Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE)
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Laboratory of Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics
- Dyenamo
- Yparex
- Mondragon Assembly
- Teknisolar
- Von Ardenne
- FOM Technologies
- University of Liege
- Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM)
- Institut National De L'environnement Industriel Et Des Risques (INERIS)
- Accelopment
Motivation and Goals
Europe is working to make its energy system clean, secure, and efficient while ensuring industrial leadership in low-carbon energy technologies. Photovoltaic power generation is key to achieving climate neutrality by 2050. In June 2022, the EU launched REPowerEU, aiming to increase renewable energy to 45% by 2030, including 600 gigawatts of solar energy.
The EU-funded PEPPERONI project will help accelerate the market entry and mass manufacturing of high-performance tandem perovskite-silicon PV modules. Running from November 2022 to 2026, it will address barriers to large-scale production, demonstrating 26% efficiency on an industrial scale, developing high-volume manufacturing processes, and ensuring operational stability beyond 30 years. A pilot line in Germany will support this goal, with large-scale Gigawatt-capable production expected before 2030.
PEPPERONI aims to develop highly efficient and stable solar cells and PV modules while establishing a controllable, high-yield production process that is scalable for large-scale manufacturing. By optimizing materials and fabrication techniques, the project seeks to ensure consistent quality and reliability. PEPPERONI commits to deliver a cost-competitive technology with minimal environmental impact, laying the foundations for sustainable and economically viable solar energy solutions.
The project brings together 17 partners from 12 different countries that will work and collaborate for 4 years to achieve the ambitious goals.
The role of PCCL within PEPPERONI is to contribute in the achievement of successful and reproducible encapsulation process, in developing testing procedures, and investigating the reliability and durability of devices.
Main Goals
- Lay the foundations for gigawatt-scale PV module manufacturing in Europe
- Scale up the active area of perovskite/Si tandems from the 1 cm2 to industry-relevant dimensions
- Develop thin-film deposition processes and equipment
- Extend the operational stability of perovskites thanks to in-depth analyses of performance losses
- Identify and address the barriers to tandem solar technology’s market introduction
- Minimise scaling losses thanks to innovations in used materials and equipment
- Establish a robust and competitive European innovation base and PV supply chain
- Support Europe in reaching its renewable energy target
- Remove any human health or environmental hotspots
Objectives and Approach
To reach its objectives and to generate a wide acceptance of tandem solar cell and module manufacturing in Europe, PEPPERONI combines four clusters, adopting a wide interdisciplinary approach.
- Industrial manufacturing. It Includes mechanical engineering, electric & electronics engineering, machine learning (industry 4.0), robotics & Informatic communications technology
- Materials. It covers materials sciences, chemistry, polymer chemistry and chemical engineering
- Social sciences. It combines economics, market analysis, business modelling, raw materials and supply chains, project management and communication.
- Environmental sciences. It includes environmental risk assessment, environmental chemistry, and life cycle analysis.
„The consortium of PEPPERONI is highly interdisciplinary and brings together many experts along the value chain of an innovative technology. PCCL will contribute to make modules based on perovskite/Si tandem cells scalable and reliable“
Downloads & Links
Funding Body
This project is co-funded by the European Union (Grant Agreement ID 101084251). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
The project is also supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).
