Oxford PV, spun out of Oxford University in 2011, has announced it is expecting to have licensees ship its solar cells, photovoltaic perovskites, by 2017.

Perovskites is a transparent, inexpensive, and nontoxic solar cell which can be printed onto glass in a range of colours, offering its customers an energy producing stained-glass window. The material is based on intellectual property developed at Oxford by professor Henry Snaith.

In February 2014, the spin-out celebrated an important milestone when it produced the most efficient perovskite cell in the world, at 17%, and it is now working towards producing stable, repeatable, high-production yield modules. The achievement is significant as it took researchers 25 years to get silicon to 20% efficiency, and it took only two years with perovskite.

The company raised $3.1m in 2013 following investment from Manchester University’s UMIP Premier Fund, alongside Oxford and private investors. In total, Oxford PV has secured $4m in venture backing.

Oxford PV is aiming to have solar cells that can weather the outside by September 2014. The company is currently still working around the material’s sensitivity to moisture. The material will need a fit-and-forget lifespan of 25 years. The company is however hopeful these obstacles can be overcome.

Chris Case, chief technology officer, said: “We will have to encapsulate to control moisture – sandwiching it between two sheets of glass with edge sealing is sufficient. Also, there are some chemical stability issues. These have been reported and are being addressed. I see no obstructions between now and 25 year life.”