Oxford PV: perovskite-silicon tandems move from record cells to shipped panels

Oxford PV, founded in 2010 as a University of Oxford spin-out, develops perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cells that capture more of the solar spectrum than silicon alone. It operates a megawatt-scale pilot production line in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany, selling 72-cell tandem panels with 24.5% module efficiency that produce up to 20% more energy than standard silicon panels, and licenses its perovskite PV patent portfolio to manufacturers such as Trina Solar.

That perovskite tandems beat ever-cheaper plain silicon: prove them in a factory, ship the first commercial panels, then license the patents to China's giants.

Oxford PV spun out of the University of Oxford in 2010 and has worked on perovskite-silicon tandem cells since 2014, aiming at the one thing plain silicon cannot deliver: efficiency beyond its physical ceiling. After record-breaking results in the laboratory, the company built a megawatt-scale pilot production line in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany, to prove the cells could be manufactured, not just measured.

In September 2024 Oxford PV announced the world's first commercial sale of perovskite tandem panels: 72-cell modules at 24.5% efficiency, made at the Brandenburg pilot line and shipped to a US customer for a utility-scale installation, with a record 26.9% residential-size module independently certified by Fraunhofer CalLab. On April 9, 2025 it signed an exclusive license with Trina Solar covering the manufacture and sale of perovskite products in China, with the right to sublicense, as a route into a domestic PV market worth over US$50 billion a year.

Still scaling: as of April 2025 Oxford PV had shipped the world's first commercial tandem panels, signed an exclusive China license with Trina Solar, and said it would pursue further licensing deals outside China while planning a gigawatt-scale high-volume manufacturing site.

The upgrade beats the replacement: a perovskite layer on proven silicon lifts module output, so utilities gain up to 20% more energy from the same land.

Make it before licensing it: a working pilot line and shipped panels gave the patent claims a credibility no laboratory record could provide.

Sell where you cannot build: an exclusive China license with sublicense rights lets Trina's manufacturing scale deploy the technology while Oxford PV keeps its own factory path.

Patent revenue arrives before the gigafactory: China's PV market, over US$50 billion a year, turned a licensing deal into near-term income.

If a Chinese incumbent can out-build you, sell the upgrade and the license: make tandem panels real in your own factory, then let Trina pay for the patents instead of fighting on price.

By April 2025 Oxford PV's first commercial tandem panels — 24.5% efficiency, up to 20% more energy than standard silicon — had shipped from its Brandenburg pilot line to a US utility-scale project, and its 26.9% residential module record was certified by Fraunhofer CalLab. The Trina Solar license granted exclusive rights to make and sell perovskite PV products in China, with sublicensing rights, targeting a market valued over US$50 billion a year and forecast to reach US$100 billion by 2030. Oxford PV welcomed further licensees outside China and planned a gigawatt-scale manufacturing site.