Japanese engineering firm JGC Holdings said it plans to commercialize flexible perovskite solar cells by 2026, which can be installed on curved surfaces such as chemical tanks, shop walls or domed buildings.
High power generation costs have always been an important factor restricting the commercial application of perovskite solar cells. JGC's approach is to try to reduce costs by cutting procurement expenses and developing easy-to-install technology, with the goal of bringing costs below those of existing solar panels by 2028. The titanium ore solar cells planned by JGC using calcium will be supplied by Kyoto University startup EneCoat Technologies.
According to JGC's vision, companies would rent space on other companies' warehouses and on factory roofs or walls to install solar cell equipment to provide power. The electricity generated will be sold at a fixed price under long-term contracts. This electricity will not only be used by factories and warehouses, but will also be transmitted to other users through the grid, and these users will need to register with the government as electricity retailers to generate large-scale electricity, with sales expected to reach tens of billions of yen by 2030 ( 10 billion yen is equivalent to 66.7 million U.S. dollars). As a first step, the company will test solar cells on the roof of a warehouse in Tomakomai, Hokkaido next year.
According to past circumstances, since the feed-in tariff subsidy program implemented in Japan in 2012, the solar cell power generation area has rapidly expanded, and now there are fewer and fewer places suitable for large-scale solar power generation. There is no doubt that this new technology will greatly expand the installation scenarios and help promote the transformation of Japan's energy structure towards renewable energy.