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
- Five Berlin-based research institutions join forces in data-driven materials researchResearch data is regarded as key to materials research in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Five Berlin-based research institutions have now signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish long-term collaboration in the fields of research data, data infrastructures and AI.
- Green hydrogen with PEC electrolysers: New insights into transport processesOne method of storing solar energy is to use PEC electrolysers to produce hydrogen. However, scaling up this technology remains challenging. Now, a team at the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels has used 2D fluorescence imaging and particle velocimetry to observe the movement of ions and dissolved gases within the electrolyte during electrolysis. These new insights may prove useful in the development of larger PEC electrolysers.
- New contact material boosts the efficiency of perovskite solar cellsA newly developed material for the electron contact improves the efficiency of single perovskite solar cells and perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. The new material is based on a carborane molecule. It offers several advantages over the standard material C60, as shown by the study led by Steve Albrecht’s team. The new material has since been patented and is already commercially available.