# Perovskite Solar Cells Keep Working 10 Meters Under the Sea

*2026-09-17 06:01 UTC · Science · 1 min read*

> Chinese researchers demonstrated perovskite solar cells generating usable power 10 meters underwater in the South China Sea, with an estimated 5.5-year operating lifespan.

Researchers led by Wen-Hua Zhang at Yunnan University and the Southwest United Graduate School in Kunming, China, have shown that perovskite solar cells can generate power while submerged 10 meters deep in the South China Sea, far beyond the roughly 2-meter limit of earlier underwater solar experiments.

The team used wide-bandgap perovskites tuned to absorb the blue-to-orange light that still penetrates seawater at depth, chemically stabilized with polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride. In field tests off the Weizhou Islands, the submerged cells generated 324 milliwatt-hours over two hours, enough to charge lithium-ion batteries, and showed almost no degradation after 1,160 hours of simulated deep conditions. The team estimates the cells could keep operating continuously at that depth for about 5.5 years.

The researchers integrated the panels with underwater robots during testing and say the technology could eventually power submerged sensors, cameras and communication systems for aquaculture monitoring and marine research, sites that are currently hard to keep powered without surfacing for a battery swap. The work was published September 11 in the journal Joule; the team's next step is testing at greater depths.

## Sources

- [techxplore.com](https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-underwater-solar-cells-meters-ocean.html)
- [pv-magazine-usa.com](https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2026/09/14/researchers-find-perovskite-solar-functions-10-meters-below-sea-surface/)

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TechTools News · https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/2387-perovskite-solar-cells-keep-working-10-meters-under-the-sea
Česká verze: https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/2460-perovskitove-solarni-clanky-funguji-i-10-metru-pod-hladinou-more