Japan backs new perovskite solar cell tech, enabling roof and wall power generation.
Japan's METI and NEDO are supporting a 12.5 billion yen project by Sekisui Chemical and others.
Japan, September 24, 2024 - The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) have decided to support a demonstration project for perovskite solar cells conducted by Sekisui Chemical and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (HD). The total project cost is estimated at about 18.3 billion yen, with approximately 12.5 billion yen to be subsidized through the Green Innovation (GI) Fund project. The project will verify installation methods, construction methods, and mass production technologies that take advantage of the unique characteristics of perovskite solar cells.
The project will last for five years. It will capitalize on the lightweight and flexible nature of film-type perovskite solar cells, involving installations on the walls of large-scale solar power plant (mega solar) buildings and on roofs with low load-bearing capacity, such as gymnasiums.
Additionally, the company plans to enhance its production technology for the “roll-to-roll (R2R)” method, which enables mass production by printing and forming thin-film devices on a substrate and then winding the substrate back onto a roll, thereby improving throughput (processing capacity per hour) and yield.
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Takeshi Saito emphasized that he would “provide seamless support from technological development to social implementation” of perovskite solar cells, with the goal of early social adoption and strengthening the competitiveness of Japan’s solar power generation industry.
