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Perovskia Solar Launches Perovskite Solar Cell for IoT and Electronic Devices, Raises USD 2.4 M

Empa spin-off Perovskia Solar has launched the first ready-to-adopt perovskite solar cells on the global market for edge devices and has raised USD 2.4 million in funding. It has also secured about 10 IoT industry leaders as clients.

September 27, 2024. By Mrinmoy Dey

Perovskia Solar AG, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), has secured 10+ Internet-of-Things (IoT) industry leaders as clients and USD 2.4 million in funding from a global coalition of angels and early-stage funds.

The award-winning startup has launched the first ready-to-adopt perovskite solar cells on the global market for edge devices like smartwatches, keyboards etc., bringing together top-end aesthetics with energy harvesting at disruptive costs.

“Energy harvesting for IoT devices is a rapidly growing market with a potential of several billion dollars,” said Anand Verma, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Empa spin-off. “Our easy-to-integrate designer solar cells either eliminate the need for batteries or extend their lifespan, opening up the possibility of powering any device with solar energy.”

Conventional silicon solar cells are complex and expensive to produce on a customised basis and are inefficient in poor lighting conditions. “We can print innovative perovskite solar cells in any size – and at low cost. With their high efficiency, they can power almost any indoor electronic device in bright home and office lighting,” said Verma.

Tobias Meyer, Founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Perovskia added, “Our energy harvesting technology has been developed over several years at Empa, which has enabled us to launch a market-ready product that powers next-generation devices for industrial and residential applications.”

Perovskites absorb light particularly efficiently and conduct the generated electricity well. Until now, however, perovskite-based solar cells were not stable enough and not durable enough for large-scale use. Anand Verma therefore spent five years at Empa researching printing processes for perovskite solar cells before setting up the company in 2020, informed the company.

Perovskia Solar now supplies several international companies with customised solar cells for IoT applications and for consumer electronics devices. The Empa spin-off is now supported by Kickfund from Venture Kick and the venture capital company D&FG Elements as well as an international coalition of business angels led by Nils Hagander and Beda Rohner. “With a market-leading product, Perovskia is ideally positioned to drive the next generation of IoT devices for consumers and industry,” said Hagander, entrepreneur and investor in technology and service companies.

The Empa spin-off recently set up a factory in Aubonne in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. One million perovskite elements are to be printed there every year.

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