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Dr Heping Shen’s groundbreaking tandem solar research at ANU, accelerated by ACAP

Updated: Aug 27


[Updated 27 August 2025]

Australia's solar research capabilities are being powerfully advanced through ACAP’s strategic investment in Dr. Heping Shen and her team at ANU. Her cutting-edge work on perovskite and silicon/perovskite tandem technologies is unlocking new efficiency and lowering cost thresholds.

 

A new certified record achieved for perovskite solar cell designed for tandem applications

 

In a landmark achievement in 2025, Dr. Heping Shen’s group developed a highly efficient wide-bandgap (1.68 eV) perovskite solar cell designed to fully unlock the potential of high-efficiency tandem architectures. The device achieved a record-setting fill factor of 86.7%, and a certified power conversion efficiency of 23.42% which is among the highest reported for perovskite solar cells with this bandgap. This is verified by the internationally recognised certification centre at CSIRO (Newcastle, Australia). 


Dr. Heping Shen and her team have been focusing on addressing the key challenge in delivering commercial perovskite and tandem cells: to achieve low cost, high performing materials – that are stable.
Dr Heping Shen and Lichun Chang with their record-setting perovskite solar cell.
ANU's Dr Heping Shen and research assistant Lichun Chang with their highly efficient wide-bandgap (1.68 eV) perovskite solar cell. The device achieved a record-setting fill factor of 86.7%, and a certified power conversion efficiency of 23.42% which is among the highest reported for perovskite solar cells with this bandgap.

The innovative strategies behind this record-breaking result improved both efficiency and stability by achieving high-performance transport materials and enhancing interface quality with well controlled energy and uniformity.

 

Extensive testing of the perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells by Dr. Heping Shen and her team has demonstrated promising stability results. In-house stability measurement shows that the devices have passed International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61215 standard tests under accelerated indoor conditions such as damp heat and thermal cycling. Outdoor stability testing has also commenced.

 

Perovskite stability challenges ahead

 

Several stability challenges remain, however. These include a need to establish:

• a deeper understanding of the complex degradation mechanisms under various stressors, both individually and in combination

• appropriate stability testing standards for perovskite cells that can more accurately predict real-world lifetimes

• better insight into how real-world environmental conditions affect long-term device stability and energy yield.

 

Advancing beyond the silicon efficiency ceiling

 

Dr Shen’s ACAP-aligned research tackles one of the greatest technical challenges in photovoltaics: breaking through the ~29% efficiency ceiling of traditional silicon (Si) solar cells. In her recent seminar at UNSW, “Towards Cost-Effective Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells”, she highlighted how tandem solar cells combining perovskites with commercial TOPCon Si technology have demonstrated pathways to exceed 30% efficiency at ultra-low production cost.

 

Her team's innovations span:

• Industrial compatibility with emerging silicon cell designs (TOPCon technology) for tandem designs

• Interconnect-free tandem architectures, simplifying production and reducing cost with higher potential performance

• Advanced p-i-n and n-i-p perovskite device structures

• Achievement of record-high performance through improvements in perovskite and functional material quality, as well as interface engineering, leading to simultaneous enhancement of all photovoltaic metrics and device stability

 

These contributions are critical in bridging fundamental materials science with scalable photovoltaic manufacturing – and are directly aligned with ACAP’s mission to accelerate advanced solar technologies.

 

Leadership, recognition & team excellence

 

Dr Shen brings nearly 15 years of photovoltaic research experience, a PhD from Tsinghua University, and a University Medal from Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

She was recently awarded the IEEE 2025 Stuart R. Wenham Young Professional Award, honouring her outstanding contributions to solar cell efficiency breakthroughs and her leadership in the global PV community.


Her ANU-based team operates as a powerhouse of innovation in perovskite materials, device fabrication and architecture innovation, optoelectronic characterisation, and solar cell stability. The team collaborates across the ACAP network and with industry leaders including Jinko Solar and Risen Energy, helping translate cutting-edge research into real-world commercial impact.

To date, Dr Shen has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, including publications in Nature, Science, and Nature Reviews Materials, and has an outstanding h-index of 44. She is firmly established as a globally respected solar researcher.


Her work exemplifies ACAP and ARENA’s strategic vision: to back Australia’s best researchers as they tackle climate change through affordable, high-efficiency, next-generation photovoltaics.

 

Building national capability

 

ACAP and ARENA’s investment and collaboration have enabled:

• Funding under the ACAP Emerging Materials Program (PP2) with Dr. Shen as a key investigator

• A $423k ACAP-funded spectroscopy project, strengthening capability in material interface analysis and device design

• Alignment with ACAP’s mission to foster industrial-readiness in next-gen photovoltaics, demonstrated by commercial relevance and sponsorship from industry partners (Jinko Solar, Risen Energy)


Dr Shen’s research is also growing Australia’s capacity in clean energy innovation, training the next generation of solar engineers, and strengthening global leadership in sustainable solar technology development. Her work exemplifies ACAP and ARENA’s strategic vision: to back Australia’s best researchers as they tackle climate change through affordable, high-efficiency, next-generation photovoltaics.



Watch Heping Shen's seminar at UNSW "Towards Cost-Effective Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells" 

 

 

 

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