Transparent photovoltaic technologies: Current trends towards upscaling

The world energy scenario is now living significant contributions coming from the photovoltaic field: new organic/inorganic hybrid materials have emerged in recent years, and in some cases these emerging strategies have exceeded the performance of traditional crystalline silicon. The next step concerns the integration of these technologies in smart buildings, in order to maximize the active surface capable of producing electricity and to contain the costs of air conditioning without affecting the amount of light needed. This review focuses on some of the most recent strategies developed to this purpose. Following an initial background on solar cells and figures of merit to characterize a transparent photovoltaic panel, the manuscript deals with a thorough analysis of wavelength-selective and non-wavelength selective devices, mentioning the main outcomes in the recent years. This distinction is proposed for both solar cells and solar concentrators, two areas in rapid evolution in academia and company worlds. A newly proposed case study and the example of a pre-industrial reality that has just started to scale-up this technology conclude this review, leaving to the reader a rich background on this highly-in-vogue field.