The compatibility problem between laboratory technology and mass production equipment

The spin coating method relied upon in laboratories has long been inadequate for mass production. One perovskite company once directly transferred a laboratory process to roll-to-roll production equipment. The result was a film thickness deviation exceeding 5%, and a 15% drop in cell efficiency consistency, ultimately forcing the company to suspend production line modifications.

The primary challenge in mass production lies in equipment compatibility. Mass production technologies like slit coating and inkjet printing require precise matching with the viscosity and drying rate of the perovskite precursor solution. For example, in one company's inkjet printing line, the 50μm nozzle diameter and the 200-500nm perovskite grain size presented a significant discrepancy. Initially, the film had a pinhole defect rate as high as 30%. However, by adjusting 12 parameters, including reducing the solution solids content from 15% to 12% and increasing the printing speed from 1m/min to 1.5m/min, the defect rate was finally brought below 5%.

Cost Control

The material cost game from "gram level" to "ton level"

The cost of producing 1 gram of 99.99% pure perovskite raw materials in the laboratory is negligible, but when mass production reaches tons, cost becomes an unavoidable hurdle. One materials manufacturer calculated that reducing the purity of lead-based perovskite from 99.99% to 99.9% could reduce the cost per ton by 300,000 yuan. While this would result in a 0.8% drop in efficiency, the cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) would actually decrease by 0.02 yuan.

This "performance-cost balance" is reflected in process details. One company reduced the use of organic amine additives from 8% to 5% by optimizing the annealing temperature curve, reducing raw material costs by 120,000 yuan per ton. Another team developed a solvent recovery device that recycles 70% of volatile solvents, saving over 2 million yuan in annual raw material costs while also reducing waste gas treatment pressure.

Yield improvement

The battle for micron-level precision on mass production lines

In mass production, a single 0.5mm pinhole in a 1.2m x 2.4m module can render the entire piece scrapped. Data from one company's pilot line shows that increasing the yield from 70% to 90% directly reduces unit manufacturing costs by 25%. This means that each production line with an annual output of 1GW can increase profits by over 300 million yuan.

The key to improving yield lies in process stability control. One mass production line maintains a strict humidity level of 30 ± 5%, controls coating speed fluctuations to within 0.5 m/min, and compresses conveyor roller parallelism deviations to 0.1 mm/m. These micron-level precision requirements have driven the introduction of over 200 sensors for real-time monitoring. Using AI algorithms to dynamically adjust parameters, the line has reduced daily yield fluctuations from ± 8% to ± 3%.

These real process challenges await even more groundbreaking solutions. The ongoing Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Third Energy Electronics Industry Innovation Competition , the "Perovskite and Stacking Technology Competition," is seeking global solutions to one of the core bottlenecks : mass production .

If you have a proven technical solution for mass production process optimization —whether it's equipment modifications that improve compatibility, material innovations that reduce costs, or intelligent control algorithms that stabilize yields—we welcome you to join this competition. Here, your technological innovations could directly translate into practical benefits for the production line, propelling perovskites from the lab to the rooftops of every household, further lowering the cost barrier to green energy.

Conclusion

Industrialization is not the end, but the starting point of the energy revolution

From 1cm² in the lab to 1㎡ on the production line , from the "ideal curve" in papers to the "cost per kilowatt-hour" in power plants—the road to perovskite industrialization requires your participation.