IIT Bombay unveils breakthrough solar tech to slash costs: Report

Solar panels

IIT Bombay researchers have developed a tandem solar cell that achieves around 30% power conversion efficiency, a substantial improvement over the existing average of about 20%, an Indian Express report said on Monday. This is seen as a major breakthrough in the field of solar technology.

This innovation could deliver a 25–30% improvement in efficiency over traditional solar technologies and may bring down the cost of solar electricity to nearly Rs 1 per kilowatt-hour, compared to the current range of Rs 2.5–Rs 4 per unit, the IE report added.

ART-PV India Pvt Ltd, a startup founded at IIT Bombay and the government of Maharashtra are collaborating on the project. By end of 2027, the researchers are aiming to come up with a commercial solution for this technology, which will as miniscule as a wafer.

Praveen Pardeshi, who is the Chief Economic Advisor to Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, told the Indian Express about the commercial scope of this technology. As per Pardeshi, state-owned Mahagenco has been assigned to look out for commercial aspect of this solar tech. India's dependence on raw material, which are currently being sourced from China, will come down significantly, Pardeshi was quoted as saying.

What's the solar tech breakthrough?

As per the IE report, the team led by Professor Dinesh Kabra has engineered PSC - semi-transparent perovskite solar cell. This solar cell forms a 4T tandem structure that leads to greater efficiency.