VIPER - heaVy pnIctogens based indoor Photovoltaics with up-cyclEd caRbon electrodes
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Abstract
The rapid expansion of indoor electronics, wireless sensors and IoT devices is creating an urgent demand for sustainable, low-cost and maintenance-free energy sources capable of operating efficiently under artificial lighting. Conventional photovoltaic technologies are poorly suited for these conditions, while existing high-performance indoor photovoltaics often rely on scarce, toxic or costly materials, limiting their commercial viability. VIPER aims to translate a novel class of lead-free perovskite solar cells into commercially relevant indoor energy-harvesting products. The project builds on two complementary families of heavy-pnictogen absorbers: silver bismuth double perovskites and antimony-based vacancy-ordered perovskites. While structurally distinct, both material systems exhibit high environmental stability, low toxicity and a pronounced performance advantage under low-flux indoor illumination.
Our recent results demonstrate indoor power conversion efficiencies significantly exceeding outdoor values, with a benchmark approaching 7% under standard indoor lighting. Crucially, both absorber families are compatible with scalable, air-processed ultrasonic spray coating and with carbon electrodes derived from up-cycled waste as hole selective contacts, enabling fully printable, metal-free and circular devices. VIPER will focus on indoor-specific optimization of device architectures, scale-up of air-based processing in collaboration with the Center for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy (CHOSE, University of Rome Tor Vergata) and protection/valorization of the emerging intellectual property through patenting and early market validation. Target applications include autonomous sensors, smart buildings and low-power consumer electronics. By combining indoor-optimized performance, sustainable materials and scalable manufacturing, VIPER addresses a clear market gap and lays the foundation for a new generation of commercially deployable indoor photovoltaics.
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Sustainable Development Goals
Budget
| Total cost: | € 150,000.00 |
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| Total contribution: | € 150,000.00 |
| PoliTo total cost: | € 150,000.00 |
| PoliTo contribution: | € 150,000.00 |