ACAP and CSIRO lead global progress in printed photovoltaics

In 2025, CSIRO and ACAP achieved some of the world’s highest efficiencies for fully roll-to-roll printed perovskite solar modules produced on a commercial-scale printing facility. 

Using the ACAP-supported commercial-scale printer, Dr Mei Gao, Dr Anthony Chesman and Dr Doojin Vak and the rest of the Printable Photovoltaics Team at CSIRO successfully fabricated fully printed 100 cm² perovskite modules with efficiencies of 11-12%, matching the performance previously achieved only on research-scale printing equipment. This combination of high efficiency, large area, and pilot-scale manufacturing places CSIRO at the global forefront of printable photovoltaics.

CSIRO's ACAP-supported Printable Photovoltaics Team: (l-r) Dr Jueng-Eun Kim, Ms Régine Chantler, Dr Mei Gao, Dr Luke Sutherland, Dr Doojin Vak, Dr Andrew Scully, Dr Dechan Angmo and Dr Anthony Chesman.

Equally significant is the demonstrated reproducibility and consistency of these modules – an essential requirement for any pathway to mass production. By optimising solution concentrations and processing parameters on the pilot line, the team has shown that high-performance printed perovskite modules can be produced reliably, not just as isolated laboratory results.

Perovskite solar modules being printed at the ACAP co-funded Printed Photovoltaics Facility.

Extensive experience delivers major technical achievement 

Scaling printed photovoltaics from lab-scale tools to industrial equipment is notoriously challenging. Following commissioning of the Printed Photovoltaics Facility (PPVF) in 2024, the CSIRO team undertook the complex task of translating established research processes to a much larger, industrial printer operating under controlled humidity and temperature. 

This required systematic re-optimisation across materials, printing and post-processing, as well as the rapid adoption of new technologies such as rotary screen printing for high-quality and smooth electrode and interconnection patterns. More than a decade of experience in printed photovoltaics enabled the team to overcome these challenges efficiently.

What’s next?

With this milestone achieved, the focus now shifts to what the PPVF makes possible next: higher-throughput operation, longer print trials and larger module formats, with widths of up to 30 cm planned. The facility is also enabling meaningful engagement with industry by producing printed solar modules at a scale suitable for real-world prototypes. 

In parallel, collaborations with other ACAP nodes will support advanced characterisation and stability testing.

This world-leading progress has been underpinned by sustained ACAP support, which has been critical to establishing, operating and evolving the PPVF – positioning Australia as a global leader in printed solar manufacturing.