Materials that may be cheaper and more efficient than silicon at converting the sun's rays into electricity could be key to the next generation of solar power, scientists say.
Though years away from being used to commercially produce solar cells, perovskites, named for a 19th-century Russian count, are emerging as the most promising material for solar cells. Panels based on perovskites are surprising researchers by efficiently converting sunlight into electricity, according to Jenny Chase, the lead solar analyst with Bloomberg New Energy Finance in London.
Perovskites are exciting "not because of where they are, but because they're getting better really, really fast," said Chase. "The rate of progress in the lab has been astounding."