Japan is set to ramp up its development of perovskite solar cells, with a goal of 20GW of capacity by 2040 its Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has said.

The Ministry will now draw up a strategy to accomplish this, with the view that investing heavily in the R&D involved will bring the price of the cells down, and if costs can be sufficiently reduced, then the target could be doubled.

The name “perovskite” comes from their crystal structure and can be manufactured as very thin and flexible panels. Development could help give Japan a lead in the technology, but also make the country less dependent on rare earth minerals from overseas, with Japan being a major manufacture of iodine, a major component of the cells.

Japan is eager to accelerate renewable energy and is less keen on nuclear following the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 and yet limited useable land means that a cell that could be placed anywhere on buildings would solve many issues.

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