While silicon based solar cells are by far the most common technology, one relative newcomer, solar cells that use perovskite crystals, has been getting better by leaps and bounds.

雖然矽基太陽能電池是目前最常見的技術，但相對較新的鈣鈦礦太陽能電池已出現突飛猛進的發展。

At this rate, perovskite solar cells could become an attractive alternative to silicon in the near future.

按照這樣的速度，鈣鈦礦太陽能電池可能在不久的未來成為矽基太陽能電池的強勁替代品。

Or the two types of solar cells could join forces to take solar power to new heights.

又或者串聯這兩種類型的太陽能電池，將太陽能發電推向新的高度。

Perovskites are a class of materials that have a cube like and diamond like crystal structure.

鈣鈦礦具有立方體和鑽石狀晶體結構的材料。

So the first perovskites were discovered more than 180 years ago.

第一批鈣鈦礦於180多年前首度被發現。

They were only applied to solar cells within the last two decades.

但直到最近20年才被應用於太陽能電池。

They work the same way other semiconductor based solar cells do.

其運作方式與半導體類太陽能電池相同。

Light from the sun excites electrons in the material and those electrons flow to conducting electrodes and generate a current.

太陽光激活材料中的電子，而電子流向導電電極並產生電流。

In 2006, perovskite cells were about 3% efficient, fast forward to 2020 and some researchers were boasting 25% efficiency.

在2006年，鈣鈦礦電池的效率約為3%，到了2020年，一些研究人誇口說其效率可達25%。

For comparison, the first silicon solar cells were created in a lab as far back as 1940.

相較之下，早在1940年，第一批矽基太陽能電池就在實驗室裡被創造出來。

In the 80 years since then, they've matured steadily to the point where they are now typically 15% to 20% efficient.

自此之後80年，它們穩定地發展，至今效率約為15%-20%。

It's true that silicon cells are getting cheaper all the time, but they're still relatively expensive and difficult to make.

矽基電池的價格確實一直下降，但仍相對昂貴且難以製造。

Perovskite cells, on the other hand, can be made with simpler manufacturing processes, like printing the crystals onto a surface, so they have the potential to be much cheaper.

另一方面，鈣鈦礦電池的製程更簡單，比如將晶體打印到表面，所以它們有可能更便宜。

Wait, it gets better.

等等，它還有更多優勢。

Because perovskite are artificial, they can be designed to be most efficient at certain wavelengths, meaning they can work in tandem with silicon in a solar cell to generate electricity from light that silicon can't use.

由於鈣鈦礦是人造的，它們可以根據波長設計效率，這表示它可以與太陽能電池中的矽協作，用矽無法使用的光發電。

These tandem solar cells are already a hair's breadth from 30% efficiency and still have room for improvement.

這些串聯式太陽能電池離30%的效率只有一線之隔，而且它們還可以更好。

It's also possible to paint perovskite crystals onto a surface, meaning you could literally paint your house into a solar panel.

也可以將鈣鈦礦晶體塗在物體表面，這表示你可以將房子變成太陽能電池板。

You know, provided your house's exterior is made of materials that can conduct the electricity the crystals generated.

但前提是房子的外牆材料要能傳導晶體產生的電。

Just, you know, that caveat.

只是要注意一點。

Oh hey, look at that.

你們看！

We are at the halfway point of the video, and everything I've said about the technology thus far has been glowing.

影片已經播放了一半，而到目前為止，我們都在講這項技術的優勢。

You know what that means, right?

你懂我的意思吧？

There's a but coming, and here it is.

有一個 "但書 "，現在就揭曉。

Perovskite solar cells have amazing potential, but they still face a few challenges before they'll be commercially viable.

鈣鈦礦太陽能電池潛力驚人，但在實現商業化之前，它們仍然面臨一些挑戰。

One major challenge is degradation.

一個重大的挑戰是退化。

While silicon cells can last 25 years or more, perovskite aren't anywhere close to that.

矽電池的壽命可以達25年以上，但鈣鈦礦的壽命卻遠不及於此。

Their performance drops off in the span of months rather than years.

他們的性能在幾個月而非幾年內就會下降。

The material is fragile and degrades when exposed to moisture, oxygen, high heat and... light.

這種材料很脆弱，暴露在溼氣、氧氣、高熱和...... 光照下會退化。

A solar cell that breaks down when exposed to light is, shall we say, less than ideal.

太陽能電池在光照下會損壞，這應該不是最理想的情況。

It's also difficult to make large perovskite cells to maintain high efficiency.

大的鈣鈦礦電池也難以維持高效率。

Pinholes and impurities between the grains can hinder the flow of current, and these problems get worse over larger areas.

顆粒間的針孔和雜質會阻礙電流的流動，這些問題在較大的區域會變得更嚴重。

These defects also give humidity and oxygen a foothold to start breaking down the material, so, larger perovskite cells degrade faster.

這些缺陷也會讓溼度和氧氣開始分解材料，所以較大的鈣鈦礦電池退化得更快。

And finally, there is the issue that a major component of the crystals themselves is lead.

最後，還有一個問題，晶體本身的主要成分是鉛。

Either the toxicity and environmental concerns of using lead will have to be addressed, or researchers will have to find an alternative.

要麼解決鉛帶來的毒性和環境問題，要麼研究人員找到另一種替代品。

Despite all that, it's still incredible just how far perovskite solar cells have come in such a short amount of time.

儘管如此，鈣鈦礦太陽能電池在這麼短的時間內有有此進展，令人驚嘆。

The next generation of solar cells that use perovskite and silicon in tandem could be hitting the market as soon as 2022.

下一代串聯鈣鈦礦和矽的太陽能電池可能最快在2022年上市。

In terms of efficiency, perovskites have caught and surpassed the most established solar power technology there is in the span of just 15 years.

在效率方面，鈣鈦礦在短短15年內，已經趕上並超過了目前最成熟的太陽能發電技術。

New breakthroughs, inefficiency, lifespan and scalability are happening all the time.

新的突破、低效率、壽命週期和可擴展性的問題持續存在。

If researchers can keep up that piece of innovation, the future of solar power looks very bright indeed.

如果研究人員能持續地創新，太陽能發電的未來看起來確實非常光明。

To learn more about how exactly solar panels work, check out this illuminating light speed episode here.

想了解更多關於太陽能電池板的工作原理，請點擊這裡看看這段具有啟發性的光速影片。

Thanks so much for watching.

非常感謝你的觀看。

Be sure to hit that subscribe button and I will see you next time on seeker.

記得點擊訂閱按鈕，我們下次見。