The archive · Climate & Energy · Strategic decision · 2010–2025
Oxford PV: perovskite-silicon tandems move from record cells to shipped panels
A University of Oxford spin-out shipped the world's first commercial perovskite tandem panels, then licensed its patents to Trina Solar for China.
Oxford PV
What the business is
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.
How it started
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.
What happened
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.
How it ended up
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.
Background
Oxford PV spun out of the University of Oxford in 2010 and spent more than a decade on perovskite-silicon tandem cells, which stack a perovskite layer on a conventional silicon cell to capture more of the solar spectrum. Its bet was that tandem efficiency, not ever-cheaper plain silicon, would define the next generation of solar.
In September 2024 the bet reached customers: Oxford PV shipped the world's first commercial tandem panels — 72-cell modules at 24.5% efficiency from its megawatt-scale pilot line in Brandenburg, Germany, to a US utility-scale project — and held a 26.9% efficiency record on a residential-size module certified by Fraunhofer CalLab.
On April 9, 2025 Oxford PV signed an exclusive patent license with Trina Solar for perovskite PV products in China, with the right to sublicense, targeting a market worth over US$50 billion a year. The deal monetized its patent portfolio through the one solar supply chain it could never out-build, while Oxford PV kept its own line running and invited more licensees outside China.
What has to be true
- 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.
What can be applied
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.
Aftermath
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.
Sources
- 20% more powerful tandem solar panels enter commercial use for the first time in the US
- Oxford PV ships first tandem perovskite solar panels
- Oxford PV and Trinasolar announce a landmark Perovskite PV patent licensing agreement
- Oxford PV, Trina Solar Enter Patent Licensing Agreement for Perovskite-Silicon Tandem Solar
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