Oxford PV, a University of Oxford spin-off developing perovskite photovoltaics (PV) for generating solar-based electricity, has set a new world record for the efficiency of a commercial-sized solar cell.

It was independently certified by Fraunhofer ISE that Oxford PV’s solar cell converted 28.6% of the sun’s energy into electricity. The cell was made by depositing a thin film of perovskite material onto a conventional silicon solar cell. Following this, the combined “perovskite-on-silicon” tandem solar cell achieved a conversion efficiency that was substantially higher than that of silicon-only solar cells (22%–24%).

Oxford PV’s solar cell was produced at its integrated production line in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany. The factory, which has the world’s first volume manufacturing line for perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cells, has begun the initial production of these cells for solar module manufacturing partners and is increasing production levels.