PV Science

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have received a $1.2 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy's SunShot Initiative to develop a technique that they believe will significantly improve the efficiencies of photovoltaic materials and help make solar electricity cost-competitive with other sources of energy.

Scientists may have overcome one of the major hurdles in developing high-efficiency, long-lasting solar cells -- keeping them cool, even in the blistering heat of the noonday sun. By adding a specially patterned layer of silica glass to the surface of ordinary solar cells, a team of researchers has found a way to let solar cells cool themselves by shepherding away unwanted thermal radiation.

In their Nature paper, researchers from Imec and a number of U.S. universities discuss the importance of having crystals larger than 4 nm in the fullerene material of organic solar cells as a way to obtain cells with a maximal efficiency. From their research, engineers learn how to set the deposition parameters of fullerene, but also what they should look for when they select alternatives for fullerene.

 A new type of solar cell, made from a material that is dramatically cheaper to obtain and use than silicon, could generate as much power as today’s commodity solar cells. 

Utiliser des molécules organiques pour produire des cellules photovoltaïques aux performances comparables à celles, en silicium, des panneaux solaires proposés aujourd'hui sur le marché. Tel est l'objectif de nombreuses équipes de recherche dans le monde qui, depuis le début des années 2000, se livrent à une intense compétition.

Le marché des panneaux solaires étant très concurrentiel, les entreprises se doivent de réduire les coûts de production. A cette fin, une nouvelle méthode d'emballage des cellules photovoltaïques dans leur housse de protection en plastique a été développée. Celle-ci est deux fois plus rapide que les procédés conventionnels, permettant des gains de temps et d'argent.