Perovskite Solar Cells Explained: Less Land, Lower Costs, More Power

Send me a message In this episode of the Climate Confident podcast, I spoke with Laura Miranda Perez, Chief Communications & Sustainability Officer at Oxford PV, about one of the most important developments in solar tech today: perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells. We unpacked how Oxford PV’s approach improves solar panel efficiency from the typical 20–22% to over 30%, and why that matters not just for land use, but also for grid capacity, system costs, and the speed of global decarbonisation. Laura also explained how tandem cells work, why silicon has hit a performance ceiling, and how perovskite offers a new path forward. We dug into the real-world implications:Why higher efficiency panels lower the cost of electricity, not just hardwareHow tandem solar can reduce emissions by 20% or more, even compared to conventional solarWhat’s holding Europe back in solar manufacturing, despite strong deployment figuresWhy utilities, not just residential customers, are driving early demand for Oxford PV’s tech Laura also addressed common misconceptions about solar, including whether it works in cloudy weather and the overblown concerns about solar panel waste. If you’re working in clean energy, manufacturing, or just curious about where solar is headed, this is a must-listen conversation. 🔗 More on Oxford PV: https://www.oxfordpv.com Listen and subscribe at https://www.climateconfidentpodcast.comDigital Disruption with Geoff Nielson Discover how technology is reshaping our lives and livelihoods. Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify Support the show Podcast supporters I"d like to sincerely thank this podcast"s amazing supporters: Lorcan Sheehan Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Support the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one. Contact If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. If you liked this show, please don"t forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Credits Music credits - Intro by Joseph McDade, and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played, and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper