Heliene and Caelux Fire Up US-Made Perovskite Solar Modules at 27% Efficiency

Commercial-scale production of the Hybrid-Tandem™ solar module is already running, Heliene and Caelux announced on November 10. Heliene builds it in Minnesota, stacking Caelux's perovskite-based Energy Producing Glass on top of its established silicon platform to create two separate power-generating layers and higher power density. The module tops out at 27% efficiency, and deliveries are slated for 2027.

The perk for Heliene is that it didn't have to tear up its floor plan. Caelux's glass lifts the conversion efficiency of Heliene's N-type solar cells by up to 20%, and it drops into existing manufacturing lines. CEO and founder Martin Pochtaruk said integrating the glass means no entirely new production setup is needed, adding that with both companies manufacturing stateside, they're pairing two fully domestic supply chains.

Perovskite has been the solar world's favorite long shot since 2009, when researchers in Japan first showed it working in a cell at little better than 3% efficiency. It's cheap and can be applied through high-volume, solution-based processes, unlike silicon, which is pricey and fiddly to make. Humidity is perovskite's weak spot, but tandem designs that sit a perovskite layer on silicon dodge much of that while adding efficiency on the cheap.

Efficiency is the gift that keeps giving. More power per square foot makes rooftop arrays pencil out on smaller properties and trims spending on labor, hardware and transport. It also eases land-use fights over farm-to-solar conversion, helps community solar and agrivoltaic projects on marginal parcels, and lets floating solar squeeze into reservoirs already competing for recreation and habitat space.

Next up: the two firms are targeting 29% efficiency and up for their next-generation modules. Meanwhile, Congress is haggling over Senate Bill 5653, the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, which the solar industry hopes will loosen federal permitting. The Solar Energy Industries Association is pushing both parties for fairness and predictability, warning in a letter to the House and Senate that developers can't finance multi-year projects without certainty.

SEIA cited Wood Mackenzie researchers finding solar and storage made up 70% of new capacity added to the grid so far in 2026, and said $120 billion in clean energy investment is tied up in permitting delays. Even if the bill clears both chambers, President Donald Trump could veto it.