Chinese photovoltaic module maker Akcome New Energy Technology said it plans to invest CNY1 billion (USD 141 million) to build a perovskite solar cell research, development, and production base to promote the commercialized production and application of this new type of highly efficient solar batteries.

The project will be built in three phases in Hangzhou, the capital city of China's eastern Zhejiang province, the Zhangjiagang-based company announced on Dec. 29, without disclosing the project's construction schedule or production capacity.

The first phase, with an investment of around CNY150 million (USD21.1 million), will include the construction of the R&D laboratory and production facility, Akcome noted, adding that the second phase, which will have a total cost of CNY250 million, will build the pilot-test production lines. The remaining CNY600 million third phase will construct the company's first-ever production line for mass production of perovskite solar cells, the firm pointed out.

Akcome's shares [SHE: 002610] closed 0.9 percent down at CNY2.14 (30 US cents) in Shenzhen today. The stock fell over 24 percent last year.

Perovskite cells are the third generation of new-type solar batteries, but have yet to achieve mass production. Their photoelectric conversion efficiency is better than the traditional crystalline silicon solar cells.

GCL Group Holdings, another Chinese PV giant, started constructing the world's first perovskite cell plant, with a yearly capacity of 2 gigawatts, at the end of December. The company’s first perovskite cells' production line has an annual capacity of 100 megawatts, but the corresponding batteries' photoelectric conversion efficiency still needs further improvement.