Oxford PV was spun out of the University of Oxford’s Clarendon Laboratory by Prof Henry Snaith in 2010 to commercialise a thin film photovoltaic technology called Perovskite. Its core technology layers a perovskite cell on top of a conventional silicon cell to create a tandem architecture that converts more of the solar spectrum than either material can alone, producing modules that generate up to 20% more energy than a standard silicon panel.
Perovskite is widely recognised to be the next generation solar technology and Oxford PV has a strong IP position and the important first-mover advantage, placing it in an excellent position to disrupt the 130GW solar market.
The company operates an R&D site in Oxford and a pilot production line in Germany, where it manufactures perovskite-on-silicon tandem modules. It was among the first to recognise the potential of perovskites as a low-cost, highly efficient solar cell absorber.
In September 2024, Oxford PV shipped its first commercial product to a US customer, marking the first time a perovskite tandem module had entered commercial distribution. In April 2025, Oxford PV signed an exclusive patent licensing agreement with Trinasolar for the manufacture and sale of perovskite-based products in China. In February 2026, First Solar entered a separate licensing agreement giving it access to Oxford PV’s perovskite patent portfolio for specific US market applications.
Professor Henry Snaith
Founder, Role
Leadership Profile
Henry is a professor in physics in the Clarendon Laboratory at the University of Oxford. Research from his group has led to the creation of a new research field, based on halide perovskites for use as solar energy absorbers. This work has enabled the development of new low cost photovoltaic technologies which promise to deliver solar energy at a fraction of the cost of incumbent silicon modules.
Watch a video of OIC Founding Partner George Robinson meeting Henry.
