Panasonic speeds up efforts to turn windows into solar panels

Panasonic Holdings is accelerating plans to mass-produce solar cells that can be embedded in glass, bolstering Japan’s push into the next-generation technology and expanding renewable energy deployment.

Large-scale production of glass-based perovskite solar cells will begin in April 2029 — a year earlier than previously planned — at a facility in Nagahama, Shiga prefecture, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Panasonic started selling units made at its development site in Osaka in September.

Japan is betting on thin and lightweight perovskite cells that can be installed on surfaces unsuitable for conventional solar panels, helping the mountainous and densely populated country add more renewables. Panasonic is targeting windows and exterior walls with “power-generating glass” that can be customized in size, transparency and design.

“Particularly in urban areas, many buildings have limited roof space available for solar panel installation, leading to increased expectations for building-integrated photovoltaics,” Panasonic said in the statement, without stating how many units it aimed to produce at the new plant.

Japan is attempting to carve out a share of the emerging market, putting it in competition with China, which dominates the global solar industry and is also developing perovskite technology. The cells are also more expensive than conventional solar panels, a key hurdle to widespread deployment.