Progress in solar technologies – from research to application
EU group project presents its results: high efficiencies with less material
A workshop entitled "European Solar Technology Forum – from Research to Industrial Application" took place at HZB to conclude of the European CHEETAH project on November 30, 2017. More than 100 participants from the most important European research institutes in the field of photovoltaics and from numerous universities came together with representatives from industry in order to discuss the progress achieved by CHEETAH.
Three different types of soclar cells have been greatly improved:
Silicon photovoltaics: wafer thickness cut by half
Efforts in the field of silicon photovoltaics have been directed towards the use of ever-thinner wafers in manufacturing photovoltaic modules. Several modules whose cells were 90-100 microns thick were presented at the workshop. These enable considerable savings in materials compared to standard modules with cell thicknesses of 180 microns.
Reducing material consumption in chalcopyrite solar cells by implementing an integrated lens system.
The approach to saving materials in thin-film solar cells made of chalkopyrites (Cu(In,Ga)Se2) was different: the cells were reduced in area and an integrated lens system incorporated into the module to concentrate the sunlight irradiating the cells. The goal is to achieve an efficiency level at least as high as that of current commercial modules while using considerably less material. The first prototypes already demonstrate that the method works in principle and can even reach higher efficiency levels than standard cells under certain circumstances due to the higher light intensity.
Extending the operating life of hybrid solar cells
The third topic in CHEETAH involved organic and hybrid solar cells. In this part of the project, polymer encapsulation materials were measured in an extensive series of tests and correlated with the operating life of the cells. The operating life of these solar cells could be increased to several years using the best of these polymers.
The presentations can be viewed here
- Sodium-ion batteries: New storage mechanism for cathode materialsLi-ion and Na-ion batteries operate through a process called intercalation, where ions are stored and exchanged between two chemically different electrodes. In contrast, co-intercalation, a process in which both ions and solvent molecules are stored simultaneously, has traditionally been considered undesirable due to its tendency to cause rapid battery failure. Against this traditional view, an international research team led by Philipp Adelhelm has now demonstrated that co-intercalation can be a reversible and fast process for cathode materials in Na-ion batteries. The approach of jointly storing ions and solvents in cathode materials provides a new handle for the designing batteries with high efficiency and fast charging capabilities. The results are published in Nature Materials.
- 10 million euros in funding for UNITE – Startup Factory Berlin-BrandenburgUNITE – Startup Factory Berlin-Brandenburg has been recognised by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy as one of ten nationwide flagship projects for science-based start-ups. UNITE is to be established as a central transfer platform for technology-driven spin-offs from science and industry in the capital region. The Helmholtz Centre Berlin will also benefit from this.
- New Helmholtz Young Investigator Group at HZB on perovskite solar cellsSilvia Mariotti starts building up the new Helmholtz Young Investigator Group ‘Perovskite-based multi-junction solar cells’. The perovskite expert, who was previously based at Okinawa University in Japan, aims to advance the development of multi-junction solar cells made from different perovskite layers.