Professor Henry Snaith, Oxford Martin Senior Fellow, has been honoured by the Royal Society for his discovery and development of highly efficient perovskite solar cells, which promise to dramatically increase the efficiency and reduce the cost of solar energy.

Professor Snaith was previously Co-Director of the Programme on Solar Energy: Organic Photovoltaics, an Oxford Martin School research programme running from 2010 - 2015. In 2013, his group developed a new approach bringing together mathematical modelling and physical experiments to create perovskite photovoltaic cells. These are a low cost, highly efficient alternative to silicon solar cells, which can be incorporated into windows. Once integrated into the glazing units of a building, the technology is capable of providing a significant percentage of the building’s electrical energy requirements directly from sunlight.

He will receive the Kavli Medal and Lecture, awarded biennially for excellence in all fields of science and engineering relevant to the environment or energy.