Research and Development
Graphene Nanoribbons Promise to Improve LI Batteries
19 June 2013POSTED IN Research
Researchers at Rice University, Houston, Texas (US), have created a process for splitting carbon nanotubes into graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) that, in a solution with tin oxide, could be used to improve the performance of lithium ion (LI) batteries. Proof-of-concept anodes built with these single-atom-thick GNRs demonstrated a better capacity than tin oxide alone. In fact, the scientists say the method can more than double the capacity and increase cyclability from only one cycle to many hundreds of cycles.
IEEE PVSC Honours NREL's Keith Emery with William R. Cherry Award
14 June 2013POSTED IN Business News
The IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC) planning committee today announced the winner of its prestigious William R. Cherry Award: Keith Emery of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Emery will be formally honored for his career accomplishments at the 39th IEEE PVSC, to be held June 16-24 in Tampa, Florida (US).
Self-Sustaining Solar Panel Generates and Stores Power
13 June 2013POSTED IN Research
Have researchers at last found an energy storage solution for solar devices that do not have space for a bulky battery? A University of Wisconsin-Madison electrical engineer has developed a design that allows a simplex standard-size solar cell to simultaneously generate and store power, creating a self-sustaining system for small-scale applications of solar energy.
Australian PV Printer Scales Up OPV Production
08 June 2013POSTED IN Research
Scientists at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have developed two new photovoltaic printers that can print organic solar cells at a rate of 10 metres per minute — or one cell every two seconds. The PV printing machines, two of the largest in the world, print at room temperature and in “normal” conditions. Thus, the PV cells produced could be much cheaper than silicon or thin-film solar cells. At 30 cm wide (the size of an A3 sheet of paper) they are also 10 times the size of previous flexible plastic solar cells and the largest produced in Australia.
Block Copolymers — A New Path in Organic Photovoltaics
03 June 2013POSTED IN Research
Polymer-based organic photovoltaics (OPVs) carry great potential for lightweight, low-cost solar energy. In an effort to improve the performance of polymer solar cells while maintaining cheap processing strategies, researchers at Rice University in Texas (US) and Pennsylvania State University in Pennsylvania (US) have now created a new kind of solar cell based on block copolymers, self-assembling organic materials that arrange themselves into distinct layers.
New Generation CPV Cells up to 50% Efficiency
22 May 2013POSTED IN Applications News
In an industry project with the French company Soitec, Fraunhofer ISE is currently developing a new generation of multi-junction solar cells with efficiency potential as high as 50% under concentrated sunlight.
Old Microwave Synthesises CZTS Nanocrystals in Minutes
22 May 2013POSTED IN Research
Researchers at The University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah (US) have used a discarded microwave oven to produce CZTS nanocrystals from cheap, abundant and less toxic metals than other photovoltaic semiconductors. Now they want to optimise this potentially fast, large-scale production method for commercialisation.
Fluorescent Organic Dye Boosts Light Absorption, Recycles Electrons in Solar Cells
16 May 2013POSTED IN Research
Adding fluorescent organic squaraine dye into polymer solar cells considerably boosts light absorption and recycles electrons, scientists at Yale University have discovered. Consequentially, power conversion efficiency (PCE) increased by 38% in the experiments.
Funding Cuts Loom for Australian Renewable Energy Agency
15 May 2013POSTED IN Politics and Policy News
At the Solar Conference & Exhibition at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre from 23 – 24 May 2013, Lara Olsen, a consultant with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), will describe the organisation’s investment strategy.
See-Through Solar Cells can Generate Energy from Windows
13 May 2013POSTED IN Applications News
New Energy Technologies, Inc., developer of see-through solar cells for generating electricity on glass windows, today announced that researchers have successfully achieved faster fabrication time, improved transparency, and a two-fold increase in power conversion efficiency. Researchers achieved today's advances by way of a novel, patent-pending breakthrough, which enables fabrication of large-scale mini-module SolarWindow devices, important to commercial deployment glass window capable of generating electricity.
Nanostructure-Coated Black Silicon Solar Cells Via ALD
09 May 2013POSTED IN Research
Aspiring to improve photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency by using latest advances in nanotechnology, researchers at Aalto University, Finland, are combining “black silicon” with the method of atomic layer deposition (ALD). As a result, the nanostructures fabricated by plasma dry etching minimise sunlight reflection. Moreover, a conformal, thin passivating layer, deposited onto the nanostructures through ALD, prevents charge carriers from recombining at the surface.
Dyesol Acheives Breakthrough in Solid-State Dye Solar Cells
08 May 2013POSTED IN Applications News
Dyesol, a leader in the commercialisation of Dye Solar Cell (DSC) technology, has achieved what it is calling a "game changing" technical breakthrough by achieving a solid-state DSC efficiency of 11.3% at full sun.
“Best Yet” Battery Design to Stabilise Solar Power for Grid
05 May 2013POSTED IN Research
Researchers from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University developed a simplified, highly scalable new battery design with significantly higher energy density that could stabilise the power output of alternative forms of energy, such as solar. As potential solution to notorious power fluctuation issues, the low-cost, long-life flow battery could thus enable solar energy to become a major supplier to the electrical grid.
IBM Develops Economical Sunflower CPV System
29 April 2013POSTED IN Research
IBM’s solar concentrator system — called an economical High Concentration PhotoVoltaic Thermal (HCPVT) system — could revolutionise solar energy. Mounted on innovative concrete solar trackers, the sunflower-inspired parabolic dish uses a multitude of mirror facets to concentrate sunlight onto several microchannel-liquid cooled receivers with photovoltaic converter chips. Scientists are hoping to develop an affordable photovoltaic system that can collect and convert 75–80% of the incoming solar radiation into energy.
Pentacene Coating Could Push Solar Cell Efficiency Beyond Shockley-Queisser Limit
25 April 2013POSTED IN Research
Thanks to a new coating developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), solar cells could produce two electrons for every particle of light harvested at the green and blue wavelengths. The research advance could be the key to solar cell efficiencies beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit, which proposes that the ultimate conversion efficiency can never exceed 34% for a single optimised semiconductor junction.
Daytime Cooling Technology Sends Heat Into Outer Space
15 April 2013POSTED IN Research
A new type of passive solar structure designed by researchers at Stanford University in California (US) combines a thermal emitter and a solar reflector into one device that could cool buildings even in full sunshine. The daylight cooling technology, also applicable to car roofs and other structures, sends heat back into outer space and could hold promises for solutions to offset global warming.
IDS Solar Develops Battery Management and Charge Controller System
10 April 2013POSTED IN Applications News
IDS Solar Technologies, Inc. announced the completion of the company's first Battery Management and Charge Controller System (BMCCS) specifically designed for use with Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP).
Bottom-Up Growth Key to 4.9% Efficient QD Solar Cells
09 April 2013POSTED IN Research
New research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts (US), shows that bottom-up-grown one-dimensional nanostructures can significantly improve the performance of colloidal quantum dot (QD) solar cells. In fact, the MIT team demonstrated a solar power conversion efficiency of 4.9%, which is among the highest reported for zinc-oxide-based quantum dot photovoltaics (QDPV).
First Solar Achieves 16.1% Total Area Efficiency Module.
09 April 2013POSTED IN Business News
First Solar, Inc. today announced it achieved 16.1% total area module efficiency for cadmium-telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) module, in tests confirmed by the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The new record is a substantial increase over the prior level of 14.4% efficiency, which the company set in January 2012. Separately, First Solar also set a record for CdTe open circuit voltage (VOC), a critical parameter for PV performance, reaching 903.2 millivolts (mV) in NREL-certified testing. This new record marks the first substantial increase in CdTe VOC in more than a decade of international research and development (R&D). These numbers come just six weeks after First Solar announced a record for CdTe solar cell efficiency of 18.7%.
University of Michigan Develops Paint-On Plastic Electronics
01 April 2013POSTED IN Research
University of Michigan engineers have developed a new method for getting semiconductor polymers in line that could pave the way for cheaper, greener, "paint-on" plastic electronics.
