UNSW Achieves 23.5% Efficiency Record for Perovskite Solar Submodule
Researchers from the University of New South Wales Sydney achieved a certified stabilized power conversion efficiency of 23.5% for a large perovskite solar submodule on October 7, 2026. This new benchmark demonstrates the potential for scalable manufacturing of perovskite solar technology, bridging the gap with smaller laboratory cells.
Researchers at the University of New South Wales Sydney (UNSW) have set a new world record for the efficiency of large-scale perovskite solar submodules. Announced on October 7, 2026, the team achieved a certified stabilized power conversion efficiency of 23.5%. Led by Scientia Professor Xiaojing Hao, the researchers worked alongside the Chinese manufacturer UtmoLight to reach this mark, which improves upon the previous benchmark by 0.6 percentage points.
The record was set using a 30 cm × 30 cm submodule with an aperture area of 676 cm². This result shows that perovskite technology can remain highly efficient even when scaled up beyond the small sizes typically used in a lab. By narrowing the gap between these larger modules and the 1 cm² cells used in initial testing, the project demonstrates the potential for perovskite solar modules to be manufactured at scale for use across the renewable energy sector.
To reach this level of performance, the team used new materials and techniques to remove the standard nickel oxide layer found in most perovskite cells. Because that layer often reacts poorly with the perovskite itself, it can cause instability. Eliminating it allowed the researchers to create a hole-selective contact directly during the fabrication process. This change simplified manufacturing while boosting the submodule's overall performance, illustrating how interface design is key to efficiency at this scale.
The UNSW team now intends to scale the technology further by producing a full-size module covering 2.8 m², matching the dimensions of standard commercial panels. They are aiming for an efficiency between 18% and 19% for this larger format. While more work is required to ensure long-term stability and consistent results before these modules can be deployed widely, the project continues through an ongoing partnership with UtmoLight to help bring perovskite PV technologies to the industrial market.
Setting this record highlights the progress being made in perovskite research and its role in the changing energy landscape. Moving from laboratory settings to large-scale production involves various technical hurdles, yet this development provides a foundation for the work ahead. The team at UNSW remains focused on refining these large-scale processing systems as they look toward the continued growth of the global solar market.
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