Research highlights:
1. Study the largest and fastest growing areas of IoT applications and categorize them by location, sector, device type and value proposition
2. Developed perovskite-based electronic shelf labels (PESL) and pilot-scale production facilities for the production of flexible perovskite photovoltaics.
1. Perovskite technology will dominate the photovoltaic market in the future
Metal halide perovskites are emerging as a new type of high-efficiency solar cell material in the past decade, with a power conversion efficiency of 25.7%. Perovskite photoactive materials have inherent advantages with high power conversion efficiency, such as long carrier diffusion length, high carrier mobility, low exciton binding energy, high absorption coefficient, and bandgap through exchange of precursor components Adjustability. Another important benefit of these materials is that thin films can be deposited by low temperature solution processing. It enables high-throughput production of rolls on flexible polymeric substrates. It is estimated that by 2030, perovskite solar technology will exceed 29% of the global photovoltaic market.
2. Introduction to the results
Saule studies the largest and fastest-growing areas of IoT applications and categorizes them by location, sector, device type, and value proposition. Some opportunities for summarization have been identified in; the concurrent development of a perovskite-based electronic shelf label (PESL) and a pilot production facility for the production of flexible perovskite photovoltaics is an excellent solution to address the perovskite photovoltaic market entry. s Choice.
3. Results and Discussion
The use of plastic foils also opens up a range of new value proposition possibilities for photovoltaics, where non-cost-related factors can provide important leverage, such as low weight, high specific power, or ease of integration with various surfaces. An important factor that differentiates perovskites from established photovoltaics is the possibility of a high level of product customization, tailored to customer needs in specific applications. This allows for a longer incubation time for the technology while the market exists, alleviating the challenges of entering the market at scale. Examples of customized flexible perovskite solar modules.
Tailored form factors for flexible perovskite solar modules
There are many battery products on the market, however, their capacity and lifetime are always a limiting factor on the usable range and frequency of data transmission. In addition, there are additional maintenance costs to take into account when replacing batteries on a regular basis. Indoor photovoltaics (IPVs) offer a promising alternative to energy supply by harvesting ambient light and converting it into electricity. To be commercially viable, photovoltaic cells need to provide more power than typical cells (eg, 1860 mWh for a CR2450 coin cell, or 3500 mWh for an AA cell). Also, this should be available in the smallest area, as manufacturers are looking to reduce the size of their products. Therefore, high power density under low-light conditions is one of the key requirements for these applications. Furthermore, flexibility in design and shape is often required, as seamless integration of energy-harvesting elements is a common requirement of product designers. From a reliability certification standpoint, indoor photovoltaics need to pass less stringent testing; the recently established IEC 63163 aims to address this issue. The principle of operation of solar cells is very different from typical outdoor use, where light intensity is often orders of magnitude higher. Therefore, conventional photovoltaic technologies, such as c-Si, are not well suited for these applications. Perovskites with tunable band gaps and good optoelectronic properties prove to be good candidates for low-light use and yield excellent performance parameters.
While the IoT market is huge and growing rapidly, identifying the best possible applications for energy harvesting is not that simple. The use case will define the electricity budget, which will need to be provided by the solar modules. The environment in which the device will be placed and the form factor of the product define the boundary conditions for the amount of energy that can be harvested. Above all, integration.
Perovskite-based Electronic Shelf Labels (PESL)
Flexible Perovskite PV Production Facility
Market size and growth are certainly not the only important aspects to consider. From a manufacturer's point of view, it is important to develop products with the least amount of customization, as this will introduce additional risks and costs. In addition, how to monetize the additional power budget is also very important. Considering all of this, electronic shelf labels seem to be one of the most attractive options. The perovskite-based electronic shelf label (PESL) developed by Saule and the pilot production facility for the production of flexible perovskite photovoltaics.
The global smart price tags market is expected to grow from USD 1.8 billion in 2020 to USD 7.1 billion in 2026, with a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.1%. Smart price tag technology is relatively new to the market and is being tested for various implementations by retailers. Using electronic shelf labels instead of paper-based solutions already offers numerous advantages. Keys include reducing human labor costs and eliminating human error, as prices can be assigned to stock keeping units (SKUs) and updated automatically. Electronic shelf labels currently available in the market usually use electronic paper to display, which is a good option to minimize the energy requirements of such devices. E-paper only needs energy to update the content on the display, which means traditional esl can last a long time as long as the price of the item doesn't change. A typical product on the market today has an average lifespan of 5 years with 1 or 2 price updates per day. One can think that for most purposes this should be sufficient; however, retail has changed in many ways since 2020.
E-commerce has been a steadily growing area over the past decade; however, its prominence has increased significantly, especially since the onset of the pandemic. With the advent of new technologies, the increase in the amount of online shopping has put traditional retailers at an even greater disadvantage. Digital stores can collect vast amounts of data about customers and shopping habits, and they can use this information to optimize prices, even multiple times a day, for maximum profitability. Online marketplace giant Amazon changes the prices of its products every 10 minutes, according to price intelligence firm Profit Inc. As another factor, disruptions to global supply chains make product availability less reliable, shifting supply and demand balances more frequently. As icing on the cake, record high inflation values further facilitate more frequent price changes. Eurostat reports annual average inflation in July 2022 was 8.9% but for unprocessed food the value could be as high as 11.0% and in the Baltic countries it was over 20%. Brick-and-mortar stores are finding these issues increasingly difficult to deal with. Even if they use the same strategy to update prices, electronic shelf labels can quickly drain battery capacity. This is where pv battery-enhancing solutions can provide significant leverage, enabling traditional retailers to compete with their digital counterparts.
The added value from the extra profit is expected to far outweigh the additional costs including solar cells, power management systems and the use of renewable batteries. In addition, paper manufacturers and product sizes in the market are fairly certain, with the highest demand for display sizes of 1.54 inches, 2.13 inches and 2.66 inches. Production of millions of units per year means steady demand, and targeted small PV unit sizes make it easy to achieve. Therefore, the authors believe that this is an excellent option to address the perovskite photovoltaic market entry.
4. References
Commercial Applications of Indoor Photovoltaics Based on Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsenergylett.2c01976
First author: Dávid Forgács
Corresponding author: Konrad Wojciechowski
Communication unit: Saule Technologies