Periodic Reporting for period 3 - VIPERLAB (Fully connected virtual and physical perovskite photovoltaics lab)
Reporting period: 2024-06-01 to 2024-11-30
In recent years, metal halide perovskites have emerged as a promising photovoltaic (PV) material, achieving high efficiencies in lab-scale single and tandem solar cells. However, their large-scale adoption remains limited by manufacturability challenges, long-term stability, environmental concerns, and the lack of standardized testing protocols.
To transition perovskite PVs from research to commercialization, these challenges must be overcome, supporting the global shift toward clean, high-efficiency solar energy. As Europe and the world work to decarbonize energy systems, perovskite PVs offer a unique opportunity to revolutionize the solar industry, providing:
- Higher efficiencies at lower production costs,
- Lightweight, flexible, and semi-transparent solar cells, ideal for urban and industrial applications,
- Compatibility with existing silicon-based solar panels in tandem configurations.
By tackling scientific, technological, and economic barriers, VIPERLAB has accelerated the commercialization of perovskite PVs, ensuring their integration into Europe's clean energy strategies.
VIPERLAB aimed to establish a well-integrated European Perovskite Research Infrastructure, offering coordinated access to research facilities and knowledge-sharing platforms, structured around three key pillars:
1. Infrastructure Integration – Connecting Europe’s leading perovskite PV infrastructures (physical and virtual) to provide efficient access to fabrication, characterization, and testing facilities.
2. Community Building & Collaboration – Strengthening the European perovskite PV community through networking, personnel exchange, and industry-academic collaboration.
3. Data, Standardization, and Long-Term Impact – Advancing testing protocols, databases, and economic assessments to support evidence-based commercialization and ensure long-term sustainability.
Final Conclusions of VIPERLAB:
VIPERLAB exceeded its initial targets, granting over 100 researchers access and delivering 39% more transnational access (TA) days than planned. It played a key role in standardization, shaping EU-wide testing protocols and research roadmaps through Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) contributions.
Additionally, the Perovskite Database, initially projected to serve 50 users, reached over 900 researchers, demonstrating strong demand for structured PV data. The project’s digital platforms, including the Knowledge Exchange Platform (KEP) and Virtual Access Portal (VAPo), have been successfully transferred to EERA-PV, ensuring their long-term accessibility.
Through its research infrastructure, knowledge exchange, and policy alignment, VIPERLAB has positioned Europe as a global leader in perovskite PV innovation. Its contributions will continue to support the development of high-efficiency, sustainable solar energy, delivering lasting scientific, economic, and environmental benefits for society.
To transition perovskite PVs from research to commercialization, these challenges must be overcome, supporting the global shift toward clean, high-efficiency solar energy. As Europe and the world work to decarbonize energy systems, perovskite PVs offer a unique opportunity to revolutionize the solar industry, providing:
- Higher efficiencies at lower production costs,
- Lightweight, flexible, and semi-transparent solar cells, ideal for urban and industrial applications,
- Compatibility with existing silicon-based solar panels in tandem configurations.
By tackling scientific, technological, and economic barriers, VIPERLAB has accelerated the commercialization of perovskite PVs, ensuring their integration into Europe's clean energy strategies.
VIPERLAB aimed to establish a well-integrated European Perovskite Research Infrastructure, offering coordinated access to research facilities and knowledge-sharing platforms, structured around three key pillars:
1. Infrastructure Integration – Connecting Europe’s leading perovskite PV infrastructures (physical and virtual) to provide efficient access to fabrication, characterization, and testing facilities.
2. Community Building & Collaboration – Strengthening the European perovskite PV community through networking, personnel exchange, and industry-academic collaboration.
3. Data, Standardization, and Long-Term Impact – Advancing testing protocols, databases, and economic assessments to support evidence-based commercialization and ensure long-term sustainability.
Final Conclusions of VIPERLAB:
VIPERLAB exceeded its initial targets, granting over 100 researchers access and delivering 39% more transnational access (TA) days than planned. It played a key role in standardization, shaping EU-wide testing protocols and research roadmaps through Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) contributions.
Additionally, the Perovskite Database, initially projected to serve 50 users, reached over 900 researchers, demonstrating strong demand for structured PV data. The project’s digital platforms, including the Knowledge Exchange Platform (KEP) and Virtual Access Portal (VAPo), have been successfully transferred to EERA-PV, ensuring their long-term accessibility.
Through its research infrastructure, knowledge exchange, and policy alignment, VIPERLAB has positioned Europe as a global leader in perovskite PV innovation. Its contributions will continue to support the development of high-efficiency, sustainable solar energy, delivering lasting scientific, economic, and environmental benefits for society.
Over the course of the VIPERLAB project, significant advancements were made in perovskite photovoltaic (PV) technology, strengthening collaboration between European research institutions, industry partners, and policymakers. Through coordinated transnational (TA) and virtual access (VA), researchers gained access to state-of-the-art infrastructures, fostering innovation in materials synthesis, device development, standardization, and economic analysis.
From the start, the VIPERLAB-GATE platform was established to centrally manage user proposals across 13 physical and 4 virtual research infrastructures. The Knowledge Exchange Platform (KEP) provided researchers with infrastructure information, guidelines, and scientific support, streamlining VIPERLAB user calls. By the end of the project, 108 users from 31 countries received access, with 86 researchers utilizing TA facilities and 22 using VA resources. The Perovskite Database, initially expected to support 50 users, reached over 900, highlighting the demand for structured PV data. VIPERLAB also exceeded planned access days by 39%, overcoming administrative challenges.
A core objective was to harmonize testing protocols for perovskite PV. VIPERLAB compared existing procedures across industry, research institutions, and accredited laboratories, leading to the development of harmonized best practices for device characterization, stability testing, and performance assessment. The project successfully conducted four round robin studies on aging, stability, and characterization, both in controlled labs and outdoor conditions. Additionally, VIPERLAB contributed to EU-wide standardization efforts, engaging with IEC, ISOS, and ETIP-PV. These efforts were consolidated into the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), ensuring perovskite PV remains a priority in future EU funding strategies.
VIPERLAB maximized its impact through dissemination, networking, and industry engagement. The project organized and participated in over 20 high-profile scientific events, facilitated international research exchanges, and contributed to 90 scientific publications, strengthening its academic and industrial outreach. To ensure long-term access to project results, VIPERLAB successfully transitioned its Knowledge Exchange Platform (KEP) and Virtual Access Platform (VAPo) to EERA-PV, guaranteeing continued access to databases, simulation tools, and infrastructure insights beyond the project’s duration.
From the start, the VIPERLAB-GATE platform was established to centrally manage user proposals across 13 physical and 4 virtual research infrastructures. The Knowledge Exchange Platform (KEP) provided researchers with infrastructure information, guidelines, and scientific support, streamlining VIPERLAB user calls. By the end of the project, 108 users from 31 countries received access, with 86 researchers utilizing TA facilities and 22 using VA resources. The Perovskite Database, initially expected to support 50 users, reached over 900, highlighting the demand for structured PV data. VIPERLAB also exceeded planned access days by 39%, overcoming administrative challenges.
A core objective was to harmonize testing protocols for perovskite PV. VIPERLAB compared existing procedures across industry, research institutions, and accredited laboratories, leading to the development of harmonized best practices for device characterization, stability testing, and performance assessment. The project successfully conducted four round robin studies on aging, stability, and characterization, both in controlled labs and outdoor conditions. Additionally, VIPERLAB contributed to EU-wide standardization efforts, engaging with IEC, ISOS, and ETIP-PV. These efforts were consolidated into the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), ensuring perovskite PV remains a priority in future EU funding strategies.
VIPERLAB maximized its impact through dissemination, networking, and industry engagement. The project organized and participated in over 20 high-profile scientific events, facilitated international research exchanges, and contributed to 90 scientific publications, strengthening its academic and industrial outreach. To ensure long-term access to project results, VIPERLAB successfully transitioned its Knowledge Exchange Platform (KEP) and Virtual Access Platform (VAPo) to EERA-PV, guaranteeing continued access to databases, simulation tools, and infrastructure insights beyond the project’s duration.
Perovskite PV technology faces challenges in scalability, stability, and industrial standardization, limiting its transition from lab-scale innovation to large-scale deployment. While efficiencies now rival silicon, CdTe, and CIGSe, key hurdles remain. VIPERLAB accelerated advancements by providing coordinated access to cutting-edge research infrastructures, standardizing testing and manufacturing, and developing open-access data platforms aligned with FAIR principles.
Perovskite PV research is often fragmented across multiple publications and datasets, limiting its potential. VIPERLAB addressed this by:
- Expanding the Perovskite PV Literature Database, defining a unified data ontology, now integrated into NOMAD.
- Creating an open-access database for materials, processes, performance, durability, LCA, and cost analyses, ensuring long-term data preservation via FAIRmat.
- Finalizing harmonized testing protocols, validated through round-robin experiments, ensuring reliable performance assessment.
- Comparing device and module designs, defining architectures for industrial adoption.
VIPERLAB has built two key digital platforms that will remain accessible: VIPERLAB KEP– an open-access database detailing EU perovskite PV infrastructures, and VIPERLAB GATE – a centralized access system for 13 leading perovskite PV infrastructures, enabling transparent user requests and peer review. Additionally, harmonized access protocols developed in VIPERLAB can now be transferred to other platforms, serving as a blueprint for managing research infrastructure in future projects.
VIPERLAB has contributed to Europe’s clean energy transition, reinforcing leadership in high-efficiency photovoltaics by (a) supporting economic viability assessments (LCOE and LCA studies), ensuring sustainable commercialization; (b) engaging policymakers and industry leaders, shaping EU research funding priorities via SRIA contributions; and (c) promoting knowledge exchange, training researchers and industry leaders through workshops, personnel exchanges, and publications.
Perovskite PV research is often fragmented across multiple publications and datasets, limiting its potential. VIPERLAB addressed this by:
- Expanding the Perovskite PV Literature Database, defining a unified data ontology, now integrated into NOMAD.
- Creating an open-access database for materials, processes, performance, durability, LCA, and cost analyses, ensuring long-term data preservation via FAIRmat.
- Finalizing harmonized testing protocols, validated through round-robin experiments, ensuring reliable performance assessment.
- Comparing device and module designs, defining architectures for industrial adoption.
VIPERLAB has built two key digital platforms that will remain accessible: VIPERLAB KEP– an open-access database detailing EU perovskite PV infrastructures, and VIPERLAB GATE – a centralized access system for 13 leading perovskite PV infrastructures, enabling transparent user requests and peer review. Additionally, harmonized access protocols developed in VIPERLAB can now be transferred to other platforms, serving as a blueprint for managing research infrastructure in future projects.
VIPERLAB has contributed to Europe’s clean energy transition, reinforcing leadership in high-efficiency photovoltaics by (a) supporting economic viability assessments (LCOE and LCA studies), ensuring sustainable commercialization; (b) engaging policymakers and industry leaders, shaping EU research funding priorities via SRIA contributions; and (c) promoting knowledge exchange, training researchers and industry leaders through workshops, personnel exchanges, and publications.