An MIT-led team revealed a “guidebook” for how to tune surface properties of perovskites, a silicon alternative – here’s why that’s huge for solar.
Perovskite solar cells, inspired by the mineral with a similar crystal structure, have been a serious topic of research within the renewable energy sector for some years now. Their potential to redefine the solar energy landscape is vast, offering a tantalizing combination of high efficiency, low manufacturing costs, and the unique ability to be applied to a variety of substrates, from rigid glass to flexible materials.
Their versatility opens up new avenues for solar installations, from urban buildings to portable, off-grid applications. However, perovskites have faced significant challenges, particularly concerning their durability and the efficiency retention when scaled to larger sizes — issues that have hindered their leap from laboratory to commercial viability.
Enter the new breakthrough paper from a team of researchers led by MIT, in collaboration with scientists from around the globe. Their innovative work, published today in the journal Nature Energy, addresses the two main hurdles that have been plaguing perovskite solar cells: their longevity and the challenge of maintaining high efficiency across larger module areas.
Lead author Dane deQuilettes, a recent MIT postdoc who is now cofounder and chief science officer of the MIT spinout Optigon, said:
This paper is essentially revealing a guidebook for how to tune surfaces, where a lot of these defects are, to make sure that energy is not lost at surfaces.
It’s a really big discovery for the field. This is the first paper that demonstrates how to systematically control and engineer surface fields in perovskites.
Traditionally, perovskite cells have struggled to match the durability of their silicon counterparts, which can reliably function for over two decades. Perovskites, on the other hand, have shown a tendency to degrade after just a few months to a few years of operation. Furthermore, replicating the high efficiencies achieved in small-scale laboratory samples over larger, commercially viable panels has proven to be a significant technical challenge.
The MIT-led research focuses on the intricate engineering of the nanoscale structure of perovskite solar cells to optimize their efficiency and extend their operational lifespan. A key aspect of the researchers’ approach involves a technique called “passivation,” which is aimed at stabilizing the material’s surface and interfaces. Passivation reduces the degradation of the cells, ensuring that they maintain their efficiency for a longer period. By analyzing and altering the interfaces where the perovskite material meets other components within the cell, the team has managed to unlock new strategies for enhancing stability and performance.
This work is impactful because it not only demonstrates how to improve the durability and efficiency of perovskite solar cells, but it also sheds light on the underlying mechanisms that lead to their degradation. The researchers’ insights offer a clearer roadmap for the development of perovskite cells that can compete with, and potentially surpass, the performance of traditional silicon-based solar cells in terms of efficiency, cost, and flexibility of application.
The MIT-led global team has basically provided directions for future engineering efforts aimed at commercializing perovskite solar cells. MIT professor Vladimir Bulovic said, “I think we are on the doorstep of the first practical demonstrations of perovskites in the commercial applications. And those first applications will be a far cry from what we’ll be able to do a few years from now.”
Bulovic also added that perovskites should be seen as an augmentation to silicon PV – “yet another way to bring about more rapid deployment of solar electricity.”
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A team of white hat European hackers using their brains, keyboards, and a couple of bits and baubles from eBay managed to take control of a 2020 Nissan LEAF and violate just about every privacy and safety regulation in the process.
The best part: they recorded the whole thing.
Budapest-based cybersecurity experts PCAutomotive were able to exploit a number of vulnerabilities in a 2020 Nissan LEAF that enabled the white hat team to geolocate and track the car, record the texts and conversations happening inside the car, playing media back through the car’s speakers, and even (this is the genuinely terrifying dangerous part) turning the steering wheel while the car was moving. (!?)
Maybe the scariest part of this hack, however, is how seemingly easy it was to pull off by starting with a “test bench simulator” built using parts from eBay and exploiting a vulnerability in the LEAF’s DNS C2 channel and Bluetooth protocol.
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The PCAutomotive team gave a hugely detailed 118-page presentation of their exploit at black hat Asia 2025, which we’ve included at the bottom of this post, in case the original link goes dead. If you’re into that sort of thing, the fun stuff starts around page 27. And, if you’re not, just know that all the vulnerabilities were disclosed to Nissan and its suppliers between 02AUG2023 and 12SEP2024 (p. 116/118), and the “attack” itself can be seen in the video below that. Enjoy!
Summary of vulnerabilities
CVE-2025-32056 – Anti-Theft bypass
CVE-2025-32057 – app_redbend: MiTM attack
CVE-2025-32058 – v850: Stack Overflow in CBR processing
CVE-2025-32059 – Stack buffer overflow leading to RCE [0]
CVE-2025-32060 – Absence of a kernel module signature verification
CVE-2025-32061 – Stack buffer overflow leading to RCE [1]
CVE-2025-32062 – Stack buffer overflow leading to RCE [2]
PCA_NISSAN_009 – Improper traffic filtration between CAN buses
CVE-2025-32063 – Persistence for Wi-Fi network
PCA_NISSAN_012 – Persistence through CVE-2017-7932 in HAB of i.MX 6
Unfortunately, this is also one of those posts that some of the more clueless anti-EV hysterics will point to and say, “See!? EVs can get hacked!” But the reality is that virtually any car with electric power steering (EPS), electronic throttle controls, brake-by-wire, etc. can be hacked in a similar way. But, while steering a target’s car into an oncoming semi might be a great way to pull off a covert CIA assassination, the more worrying issue here is the breach of privacy and recording – unless you want to spend some time in El Salvadoran prison, I guess.
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A major new EV battery factory is being built in Sunderland, bringing 1,000 new jobs with it. AESC, Nissan’s battery partner, is behind the £1 billion ($1.33 billion) plant, which will boost the UK’s EV battery production by six times, enough to power 100,000 electric cars annually.
The 12 GWh capacity plant, AESC’s second battery plant in Sunderland, will be powered by 100% net-zero carbon energy. That big jump in capacity helps position Britain as a global player in EV manufacturing while pushing forward the country’s net-zero goals.
The investment is getting a serious financial lift from the British government. Through a combination of support from the National Wealth Fund and UK Export Finance, the project is unlocking £680 million in financing from major banks, including HSBC, Standard Chartered, SMBC Group, Societe Generale, and BBVA, that covers the construction and operation of the battery factory. Another £320 million is coming from private investment and fresh equity from AESC. On top of all that, the government’s Automotive Transformation Fund is pitching in with £150 million in grant funding.
This deal follows closely on the heels of the new UK-US trade agreement announced a day earlier, which cuts car export tariffs from 27.5% down to 10% for up to 100,000 UK-made vehicles – nearly the total number exported last year. That move could save car companies hundreds of millions of pounds and help protect good-paying jobs in manufacturing hubs like Sunderland.
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Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves visited AESC in Sunderland, where she met with staff and local leaders to discuss what this means for the Northeast and the British car industry.
“This investment follows hot on the heels of yesterday’s landmark economic deal with the US, which will save thousands of jobs in the industry,” Reeves said.
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It’s about the future of their jobs. Ford workers at two plants in western Germany are set to go on strike on Wednesday, their works council chief said on Monday.
Ford is facing a worker strike in Germany
In November, Ford announced it would cut around 4,000 jobs in Europe by 2027 as part of a restructuring, primarily in Germany and the UK. That’s still about 14% of its European workforce.
The American automaker said the move comes after it has incurred “significant losses” in recent years and a “highly disruptive market” with new EVs quickly gaining market share.
Ford blamed slower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles and a weak economic situation. It also plans to slow production at its Cologne EV plant, where the electric Explorer and Capri are built.
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Last week, IG Metall members voted in favor of “industrial action” with 93.5% of votes in favor of a strike. “Ford must act now—otherwise, we will go through with it,” said Kerstin D. Klein, Chief Representative of IG Metall Cologne-Leverkusen.
Ford Explorer EV production in Cologne (Source: Ford)
Ford is facing an influx of new competition, including Chinese EV makers like BYD. BYD’s overseas sales are surging with a fifth straight month of growth in April.
BYD even outsold Tesla in Germany last month, with 1,566 vehicles registered. In comparison, Tesla had just 855, and Ford saw 9,534 registrations.
Ford’s electric vehicles in Europe from left to right: Puma Gen-E, Explorer, Capri, and Mustang Mach-E (Source: Ford)
On top of this, Ford, like most of the industry, is preparing for more disruption with Trump’s auto tariffs. After releasing Q1 earnings last week, Ford warned that the tariffs could cost up to $2.5 billion this year.
During Ford’s earnings call, CFO Sherry House said that recent EV launches in Europe, including the Explorer, Capri, and Puma Gen-E, helped more than double Model e’s wholesale volume in Q1.
After early success in the US, Ford also launched its “Power Promise” promotion in Europe, offering EV buyers a free home charger and several other perks.