Perovskite solar costs could fall if thin-film, low-temperature processing and ink-based coating reduce factory steps and capital needs—and if factories achieve high throughput, efficient modules, consistent yields, and durable encapsulation. But those are cost-reduction pathways, not proof that perovskite modules are already cheaper: published figures are model estimates, while production at commercial scale and long-term operating life remain unestablished.
Why perovskites could cost less to manufacture
A perovskite solar cell uses a metal-halide perovskite as its light-absorbing layer. The device also needs functional layers that move charge to electrical contacts. In a general process described by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), precursor salts are mixed into an ink or deposited together by vapor methods, an ultrathin film is deposited and heated, other layers are applied, and laser scribing connects cells into modules. Edge sealant and encapsulant protect the finished module from weather. The details vary among research groups because manufacturing methods are still developing.
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The possible savings come from how the layers are made and assembled. DOE identifies low-temperature processing and printing active layers from inks as ways that may reduce process steps and capital expenditure. Thin-film coating could also support continuous production rather than handling each rigid substrate as a separate unit. These are potential advantages: a cheaper or simpler deposition step does not by itself establish lower cost for a finished, reliable module.
Manufacturing cost depends on the whole factory and product, not just the price of precursor materials. Relevant factors include equipment, labor, facility costs, production speed, usable yield, module efficiency, integration steps, and the protection needed to meet durability requirements. If more material or modules fail quality checks, or if encapsulation adds cost and time, savings in the coating stage can be offset.
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How sheet-to-sheet and roll-to-roll production differ
Sheet-to-sheet
In sheet-to-sheet processing, layers are deposited on a rigid base. This route uses discrete substrates, and the central scale-up challenge is making high-performing material uniformly over a large area. DOE identifies large-area uniformity as one reason module performance can lag small-cell performance.
Roll-to-roll
In roll-to-roll processing, layers are deposited on a flexible base. A continuous web offers a potential route to high throughput, but speed alone does not determine cost: the process must coat consistently, produce modules with good yields, integrate the cells, and protect the flexible product. DOE also notes that earlier roll-to-roll work in other thin-film technologies faced performance and rigid-encapsulation challenges.
Neither route is established as universally lowest-cost. A useful comparison has to account for substrate, deposition and coating methods, curing or other post-deposition treatment, throughput, equipment and facility footprint, area uniformity, yield, module integration, encapsulation, and demonstrated durability. The relevant trade-offs depend on the specific manufacturing process and product.
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What published manufacturing-cost estimates actually mean
Roll-to-roll solar-film estimate
A 2022 Applied Energy techno-economic analysis by Blake Martin, Delaina Amos, Ellen Brehob, Maikel van Hest, and Thad Druffel modeled roll-to-roll production using radiation thermal processes. It considered a single plant exceeding 1 GW per year and discussed very large-scale operations of several gigawatts. For those very large-scale scenarios, the authors reported modeled costs of $0.04–$0.10 per watt for solar films. This is an estimate for manufacturing solar films under modeled conditions—not a finished-module selling price, a current market quote, or an installed-system cost. Read the study record.
Tandem-module cost model
A January 9, 2025 release from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NLR) described a tandem-module manufacturing-cost model. Its baseline was 25%-efficient modules made in the United States at 3 GW of annual factory capacity. The model combined laboratory processes with existing equipment and supply chains and considered materials, equipment, factory location, and other factors.
In that specific scenario, factory throughput and module efficiency were the most significant cost sensitivities among the factors examined. Lead author Jacob Cordell said that a 2.5% absolute module-efficiency gain—a 2.5 percentage-point increase—provided the same reduction in modeled cost per nameplate capacity as doubling factory size. This is a result of that model and baseline, not a general rule for every factory or tandem design. The model did not address module energy production or lifetime. Read NLR’s explanation.
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The two estimates have different product boundaries and assumptions, so their figures should not be treated as directly comparable. Neither establishes a current retail module price, an installed-system cost, or a verified levelized cost for commercial perovskite deployment.
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Efficiency figures often quoted for perovskites refer to small research devices, not necessarily to modules made reliably across a factory line. A module combines interconnected cells across a larger area, where coating uniformity, integration, and production yield matter. High cell efficiency is a valuable technical result, but it does not prove that a manufacturer can produce high-efficiency modules at scale or at a particular cost.
DOE’s Perovskite Research Directions page lists research-device records as of April 21, 2024: 26.1% for single-junction perovskite devices and 33.9% for perovskite-silicon tandem devices. These dated records do not establish large-area manufacturing yield or commercial module performance. The same DOE page reports that, as of April 22, 2024, PACT had observed minimodules of about 25 cm² with 15–18% aperture-area efficiency that had not fallen to 80% of their initial efficiency after five months outdoors. That is a limited field observation, not evidence of a decades-long service life.
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Module efficiency can reduce modeled cost per watt because a more efficient module produces more nameplate capacity from a given module area. But a cost-per-nameplate-watt model is not a prediction of lifetime electricity generation or system economics. For that, durability and energy output over time matter too, along with costs beyond module manufacturing. NLR’s 2025 tandem model explicitly excluded energy production and module lifetime.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Reliability and reproducibility still set the commercial hurdle
Perovskites can degrade in response to moisture, oxygen, light, heat, applied voltage, or combinations of these stresses, according to DOE. The agency says commercial production has not begun primarily because operating lifetimes remain limited. Its target for grid-scale perovskite electricity generation is at least 20 years, preferably more than 30 years; that is a target, not a demonstrated lifetime for current commercial modules.
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Research approaches include improved encapsulation, alternative material formulations and contact layers, and surface treatments. These may help address degradation, but they also have to fit a manufacturable process and maintain performance over the module’s area. For commercial economics, reliable operation and reproducible production are part of the cost question: a low factory cost is not useful if modules degrade early or yields vary too widely.
How to judge a claimed cost reduction
- Check the product boundary. Determine whether the number covers an active film, a finished module, or a complete installed system.
- Check the scenario. Look for the modeled factory scale, location, production route, module efficiency, and assumptions about equipment, labor, materials, and yield.
- Separate nameplate cost from delivered energy. Cost per watt of rated capacity does not account for how much electricity a module produces over its life.
- Look for scale-up evidence. Small-cell records do not establish module uniformity, throughput, production yield, or commercial repeatability.
- Look for comparable durability evidence. Test conditions, independent validation, field duration, and the stress combinations tested all affect what a reported stability result can support.
DOE’s overview describes the broader status plainly: “perovskite PV is not yet manufactured at scale” and challenges remain before it can become commercially competitive. The practical implication is that projected savings should be read as conditional manufacturing scenarios, not as proof of lower prices for buyers today.
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