Berlin Science Week: Research Delivers – What is Slowing Down the Expansion of Solar Energy?
Thanks to new technologies from research, solar power does not cost more than coal-based electricity; but why is the expansion simply not getting off the ground?
Solar modules could also cover a considerable proportion of the energy requirements in cities - especially if the surfaces on the facades are also used in future. For this purpose, there are now a large number of aesthetically attractive facade solutions that also convert scattered light into electricity and are available in many colors and shapes. More and more solutions are emerging from research that enable even higher efficiencies and even lower module costs. The technologies are there and the kilowatt hour of solar power is no more expensive than coal-fired power. Yet the expansion is not getting off the ground. What is the reason for this?
Photovoltaics researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) will meet with representatives from politics and industry in a panel discussion. They will discuss research successes, economic aspects, market strategies, political incentives, construction challenges and what is needed to ensure that more solar power soon finds its way into living rooms.
Panel:
- Samira Jama Aden (Architect at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin | PVcomB | BAIP)
- Prof. Steve Albrecht (Head of the young investigator group Perowskite Tandem Solar Cells, HZB)
- Prof. Claudia Kemfert (German Institute for Economic Research, Head of Department Energy, Transportation, Environment)
- N.N.
Host: Prof. Rutger Schlatmann (Director of the Competence Centre Photovoltaics Berlin, PVcomB / HZB)
9. November 2020, 17.00 Uhr | Online
- MXene as a frame for 2D water films shows new propertiesAn international team led by Dr. Tristan Petit and Prof. Yury Gogotsi has investigated MXene with confined water and ions at BESSY II. In the MXene samples, a transition between localised ice clusters to quasi-two-dimensional water films was identified by increasing temperature. The team also discovered that the intercalated water structure drives a reversible transition from metallic to semiconducting behaviour of the MXene film. This could enable the development of novel devices or sensors based on MXenes.
- Lithium-sulphur batteries with lean electrolyte: problem areas clarifiedUsing a non-destructive method, a team at HZB investigated practical lithium-sulphur pouch cells with lean electrolyte for the first time. With operando neutron tomography, they could visualise in real-time how the liquid electrolyte distributes and wets the electrodes across multilayers during charging and discharging. These findings offer valuable insights into the cell failure mechanisms and are helpful to design compact Li-S batteries with a high energy density in formats relevant to industrial applications.
- Self assembling monolayer can improve lead-free perovskite solar cells tooTin perovskite solar cells are not only non-toxic, but also potentially more stable than lead-containing perovskite solar cells. However, they are also significantly less efficient. Now, an international team has succeeded in reducing losses in the lower contact layer of tin perovskite solar cells: The scienstists identified chemical compounds that self-assemble into a molecular layer that fits very well with the lattice structure of tin perovskites. On this monolayer, tin perovskite with excellent optoelectronic quality can be grown, which increases the performance of the solar cell.