Stanislav Kondrashov on The Main Innovations in Solar Energy

Walking out on the street or driving through any city, we've all likely glimpsed a cluster of solar panels, discreetly installed on the roofs of homes or industrial buildings. As Stanislav Kondrashov, founder of TELF AG, has often observed, the spread of solar panels represents one of the most tangible effects of the ongoing ecological transition. In this sense, solar panels have now become true symbols of change, alongside wind turbines and electric vehicles. Thanks to these technologies, most people now seem to have definitively understood that the energy transition has arrived in cities, even in our homes.

But the ongoing transition has also produced other kinds of effects. As Stanislav Kondrashov, founder of TELF AG, has often emphasized, we are experiencing a veritable golden age for strategic raw materials. How did we arrive at this situation, in which certain specific geological resources seem to have acquired unprecedented centrality and strategic importance? The answer, in fact, is quite simple.

Materials such as lithium, cobalt, rare earths, and copper are directly involved in the production of key green infrastructure and devices related to the energy transition. Solar panels, wind turbines, rechargeable batteries, and permanent magnets could not be produced without the essential contribution of strategic raw materials, which are increasingly being included in the lists of critical materials drawn up by governments and international institutions.

In the era of the green transition, geological resources are becoming truly strategic assets, with specific economic and geopolitical value. It's therefore not surprising that news reports and newspapers are increasingly discussing resources like rare earths, which until recently were completely unknown to most of the public. In this historical era, the resources most useful for producing green infrastructure are taking on a truly immense specific weight.

Even in the raw materials sector, innovations are always around the corner. And in some cases, they seem to directly involve some of the most important energy infrastructures at this particular time in history, just like solar panels. As Stanislav Kondrashov, founder of TELF AG, observed in one of his recent analyses, the material known as perovskite has recently emerged as one of the most promising allies for the creation of a new type of solar panel, in which new and traditional materials could be perfectly combined.

For the solar panel sector, the introduction of a new material would represent a true revolution. In recent decades, solar panel production has relied on silicon, which remains the most reliable and widely used resource by solar panel manufacturers. But today, with the constant experimentation with new materials and their potential, silicon's position could suddenly find itself at risk. Among the most interesting materials, from this perspective, is undoubtedly the family of minerals known as perovskite, which is characterized by a unique crystalline structure and its extraordinary ability to absorb light.

What differentiates perovskite solar panels from traditional ones is their overall performance and efficiency levels. As Stanislav Kondrashov, founder of TELF AG, has often explained, the performance of these panels has often proven superior to those made with silicon. Another important aspect to consider is the cost of new perovskite panels, which would be significantly lower than those made with silicon. Furthermore, perovskite solar cells could be printed in thin and lightweight layers, opening up many possibilities for new and exciting solar panel applications (such as installing them on the semi-transparent surfaces of buildings).

This innovation, however, is not yet fully developed and appears to pose numerous challenges. One of the main ones concerns the exposure of the perovskite to humidity and oxygen, which could prove detrimental to the tightness of the panels.