Australian researchers develop vapour-based manufacturing process for lead-free perovskite solar

<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Researchers at the University of Queensland have developed a scalable, lead-free perovskite solar cell manufacturing process that achieves record indoor-light efficiency while avoiding toxic materials and enabling flexible consumer electronics applications.</span></p><p><strong>From <a href="https://www.pv-magazine-australia.com/2026/05/01/queensland-researchers-develop-lead-free-perovskite-material/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">pv magazine Australia</a></strong></p>
<p>University of Queensland researchers have developed a safe and scalable vapour-based manufacturing process for fabricating high-quality lead-free perovskite material with fewer performance-limiting defects.</p>
<p>Indoor perovskite solar cells operate under low-intensity artificial light, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and fluorescent lamps, but most rely on lead-based hazardous materials.</p>
<p>The new fabrication method eliminates the need for toxic <a href="https://www.pv-magazine-australia.com/2025/05/23/improving-perovskite-solar-cell-durability-via-formamidinium-cations/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">lead</a> and other hazardous solvents.</p>
<p>UQ Chemical Engineer and research co-lead Miaoqiang Lyu said the technology his team has developed eliminates those materials while still delivering high efficiency.</p>
<p>“By removing those solvents entirely, the process is much better suited to scalable manufacturing,” Lyu said.</p>
<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_120451"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-120451" height="400" src="https://www.pv-magazine-australia.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/1.-panel-closeup-edit-600x400.jpg" width="600" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Halide perovskites are an emerging technology that could replace silicon.<i>Image: The University of Queensland</i></p>
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<p><strong>Efficiency</strong></p>
<p>Lyu said halide perovskites are an emerging technology that could replace silicon, offering much higher efficiencies and commercial potential.</p>
<p>“Indoor solar cells themselves are not new, but the power conversion efficiency of the commercial silicon-based technology is only around  10%,” he said.</p>
<p>Using the new method, the panels achieved an efficiency of 16.36% — the highest reported for this type of lead-free perovskite indoor solar cell made using an industry-compatible evaporation method.</p>
<p><strong>Commercial use</strong></p>
<p>Panels fabricated using the UQ process are thin, scalable and can be made on flexible plastic and in different shapes, making them easy to integrate into a <a href="https://www.pv-magazine-australia.com/2024/10/30/flexible-printed-solar-film-research-tacks-closer-to-commercial-viability/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">range of products</a>.</p>
<p>They offer an alternative to coin-cell and button batteries for low-power electronics like environmental sensors, wearables, medical and health monitoring devices, and small consumer electronics.</p>
<p>Battery-powered electronic shelf labels being trialled by supermarkets are also a potential early application of the technology.</p>
<p>“People will probably see perovskite indoor panels and integrated consumer electronics in the market in the next few years,” Lyu said.</p>
<p><strong>Further testing</strong></p>
<p>“I think the key here is encapsulation, to protect the material from oxygen and moisture,” Lyu said.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.5c04174" rel="noopener" target="_blank">research</a> was published in <em>ACS Energy Letters.</em></p>