Panasonic Holdings Corp. will begin mass production of thin, lightweight perovskite solar cells in April 2029, the company announced Tuesday. This brings forward the company's previous plan, which had aimed for "around fiscal 2030," by one year. The cells will be integrated into building materials such as windows and are intended for use in commercial and condominium buildings, as well as public facilities.
Panasonic is currently establishing a mass production facility in Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, and plans to market the cells under the brand name "Eneface." The company has not disclosed its investment amount or production capacity. It intends to establish mass production technology that keeps the price at no more than five times that of standard window glass and offer the cells to real estate companies and local governments that are environmentally conscious, among others.
According to the company's estimates, the total area of windows and other building surfaces where glass-type perovskite panels can be installed is about 2.5 times greater than the roof area available for conventional solar panels, suggesting significant growth potential.
"Thanks to the efforts of our (development team) members, we now have a clear path to bringing (mass production) forward," said Executive Officer Tatsuo Ogawa at a briefing held in Tokyo. "We aim to provide products that blend into the urban landscape and enhance the buildings' value," he added.
Movement toward the mass production of perovskite solar cells are accelerating. Sekisui Chemical Co. is rolling out a flexible film-type version and plans to begin operations at its Sakai Plant in Osaka Prefecture, which will have a production capacity worth 100 megawatts, in fiscal 2027.
Chinese manufacturers are also expanding their investments in mass production. Katsutoshi Hori of Development Bank of Japan Inc., who is well-versed on perovskite, pointed out: "While it cannot be said that Japanese companies are lagging behind at this point, if mass production is delayed, they will fall behind in terms of accumulating manufacturing experience and reducing costs. It is essential to expedite the establishment of production systems."
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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.
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