TECH
A NSW startup has partnered with the CSIRO to make razor-thin solar panels
TONY YOO
NOV 10, 2016, 12:50 PM
http://edge.alluremedia.com.au/uploads/*/2016/11/BI_printed_solar_cells.jpgSource: CSIRO
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The Australian government has just plunged $1.6 million to help realise the dream of miniaturising solar panels into thin plastic sheets.
The Turnbull government on Wednesday announced the investment would be ploughed into CSIRO’s new collaboration with two private companies, in a venture labelled a “world-first”.
“If successful, the two-year project will help to slash the cost of solar [panels] and create an environmentally responsible building material that doesn’t compromise architectural integrity,” industry, innovation and science minister Greg Hunt said.
Printed solar cells are manufactured by applying “solar inks” onto plastic film. The solar panels are then light enough and flexible enough to be integrated easily into windows, roofs and other objects — without the structural burden of heavy traditional panels.
Solafast, a startup based in the central west region of NSW, and Melbourne high-tech printing firm Norwood are the companies partnering with the CSIRO.
“CSIRO provides the solar know-how while Norwood can take our printed electronics into the mainstream and create large-scale industrial volumes,” said CSIRO industrial innovation group leader Dr Fiona Scholes.
“Solafast’s innovative steel roll-forming technology completes the picture, allowing the solar cells to be incorporated into roof and external cladding products.”
The solar ink technology was previously developed by the CSIRO in conjunction with Melbourne and Monash universities. The ABC reported in 2014 that the three institutions had worked on the concept since 2007, forming an alliance named Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium.
Dr Scholes said at the time the technology could be used to create dual-purpose cases for smartphones and tablet computers.
“iPad covers, laptop bags, skins of iPhone – not just for casing electronics but to collect some energy as well and power those electronics,” she told the ABC. “It can be made to be semitransparent – we can use it for a tinted window scenario.”
Australia has around 15% take-up of solar power among domestic users, which is one of the highest rates internationally. But according to the government, the logistics of installing bulky panels has stopped widespread adoption in the commercial sector.
“By supporting this project, the Turnbull Government is helping Australian industry take advantage of Australia’s commercial solar market, which is estimated to be worth $250 million a year,” Hunt said.
“This is an extremely exciting project, which sees science partnering with industry to create jobs and growth potential for Australia.”
The government’s Cooperative Research Centres Programme, a scheme that backs partnerships between “industry, researchers and the community”, provided the $1.6 million through its new CRC Projects initiative.
http://www.*.com.au/a-nsw-startup-h...csiro-to-make-razor-thin-solar-panels-2016-11
Printable solar cells for lightweight energy
Our thin, flexible solar cells could offer an affordable solution to meeting the needs of increasing energy demands around the world.
THE CHALLENGE
Harnessing the sun to meet rising energy needs
Solar energy is a huge source of clean, sustainable power – a fraction of the sun's energy could power the world.
With global energy demands continuing to rise, a range of low-cost solar technologies will be crucial to meeting the energy needs of both the developed and developing world.
OUR RESPONSE
Printable solar cells that are flexible and lightweight
We're developing new materials and processes to enable the production of thin, flexible solar cells based on printable ‘solar inks’. These inks are deposited onto flexible plastic films using a range of processes including spray coating, reverse gravure, slot-die coating and screen printing.
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We’re developing new printable solar cells that are flexible, light weight and are so thin that they can cover most surfaces.
We've also developed capabilities in both organic photovoltaics (OPV) and dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSC). These technologies differ in a number of ways from traditional, silicon-based solar cells, offering:
This work has been carried out by the Victorian Organic Solar Cell (VICOSC) Consortium, a research collaboration between CSIRO, Monash University, the University of Melbourne, BlueScope Steel, Innovia Films, Innovia Security and Robert Bosch SEA. It has been supported by funding from the Victorian State Government and the Australian Government through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
- greater flexibility – being light weight and flexible, solar panels can be integrated into windows, window furnishings, rooftops and even consumer packaging
- affordability – lower cost and light weight solar can provide for the energy needs for remote outback locations and developing communities.
THE RESULTS
Pilot-scale production is now ready for expansion
By developing new organic materials and solar cell device architectures, we have achieved power conversion efficiencies of around 9 per cent on small-scale devices.
Our pilot-scale, roll-to-roll printing lines have successfully fabricated 10 × 10 centimetre flexible solar modules, and we have recently begun printing even larger solar modules up to A3 size.
Our rapidly expanding efforts on hybrid organic-inorganic solar inks are also resulting in significant advances in the performance of our large-area printed solar cells.
We are keen to focus our technology on specific applications, and can now produce pilot-scale quantities for incorporation into a wide range of prototypes.
The low barriers to entry mean this technology can provide new opportunities for Australian manufacturing, opening up new markets and new jobs.
Posted on September 14, 2015 with 1 Comment Semitransparent perovskite solar cells with graphene electrodes Developing transparent or semitransparent solar cells with high efficiency and low cost to replace the existing opaque and expensive silicon-based solar panels has become increasingly important due to the increasing demands of the building integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs) systems. The Department of Applied Physics of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has successfully developed efficient and low-cost semitransparent perovskite solar cells with graphene electrodes. The power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of this novel invention are around 12% when they are illuminated from Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide bottom electrodes (FTO) or the graphene top electrodes, compared with 7% of conventional semitransparent solar cells. Its potential low cost of less than HK$0.5/Watt, more than 50% reduction compared with the existing cost of Silicon solar cells, will enable it to be widely used in the future. Solar energy is an important source of renewable energy, in which solar cells, or photovoltaics, will be used to convert light energy directly into electricity by photovoltaic effect. The first generation crystalline silicon solar panel is highly stable with efficient energy conversion, but opaque and expensive. The second generation solar cell, namely thin film solar cell, is light in weight and can be made flexible. However, they are made of rare materials with complicated structure and need high temperature treatments. With the research objectives of producing solar panels of high PCEs, easy fabrication, and low cost, in recent years, scientists have been investigating third generation solar cells. Perovskite solar cell as a novel third generation solar cell has attracted much attention recently due to its high power conversion efficiency, convenient fabrication process and potentially low cost. With the aim of improving PCEs and reducing costs of semitransparent solar panels, PolyU researchers have developed the first-ever made semitransparent perovskite solar cells with graphene as electrode. Graphene is an ideal candidate for transparent electrodes in solar cells with high transparency, good conductivity and potentially low cost. The semitransparent feature of the solar cell enables it to absorb light from both sides, and can be widely used in windows, facades, louvers and rooftops of buildings for converting solar energy into electricity, thus increasing the surface area for collecting solar energy substantially. While graphene as an advanced material was invented more than 10 years ago, PolyU innovated simple processing techniques for enhancing the conductivity of graphene to meet the requirement of its applications in solar cells. Firstly, the conductivity of graphene was dramatically improved by coating a thin layer of conductive polymer poly-(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOTSS), that was also used as an adhesion layer to the perovskite active layer during the lamination process. Secondly, to further improve the efficiency of power conversion, PolyU researchers found that by fabricating the solar cell with multilayer chemical vapor deposition graphene as top transparent electrodes, the sheet resistance of the electrode could be further reduced while maintaining the high transparency of the electrodes. Lastly, the performance of this novel invention is further optimized by improving the contact between the top graphene electrodes and the hole transport layer (spiro-OMeTAD) on the perovskite films. Because of the excellent mechanical flexibility of graphene and the convenient preparation of the devices, PolyU's invention can be used for the mass production of the semitransparent perovskite solar cells with printing or roll to roll process. The semitransparent solar cells will fill the gap in the market which is not achievable by the existing solar cells dominating the market. For further information seeThe Rise of Perovskite Solar Cells 2015-2025 Source and top image: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Learn more at the next leading event on the topic: Printed Electronics USA 2016 on 16 - 17 Nov 2016 in Santa Clara, CA, USA hosted by IDTechEx.
Read more at: http://www.printedelectronicsworld....rovskite-solar-cells-with-graphene-electrodes
http://www.printedelectronicsworld....rovskite-solar-cells-with-graphene-electrodes
TECH A NSW startup has partnered with the CSIRO to make...
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