Solar Energy

Bristol-led research will disrupt solar and expedite efforts toward Net-Zero target

Published

4 years ago

February 12, 2021

sarosh

Bristol-led research will disrupt solar and expedite efforts toward Net-Zero target

A team of researchers, led by chemists from the University of Bristol, has received significant funding from the UKRI to revolutionise the fabrication and application of photovoltaic devices, used to produce solar energy.

Imagine a city in the near future where buildings have solar panels integrated into windows, cladding and rooftops – allowing urban areas to generate their own clean and renewable energy. Thanks to a new grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Bristol’s Cabot Institute, that vision is set to become reality.

The Bristol-led team, together with colleagues from Northumbria University and Loughborough University, will focus on developing the formulation and processing of inorganic semiconductor junctions at the centre of thin-film PV devices. In contrast to established technologies, thin-film PV devices have a lower energy payback time (i.e. they emit less carbon during fabrication/installation). They can also be made flexible, semi-transparent and adapted to a variety of systems and infrastructures.

Professor David Fermin, Head of Bristol Electrochemistry and Solar Team at the University of Bristol, said:

“”If we are to achieve a target of Net-Zero by 2050, we need technology that can mitigate our increasing demand for electricity, which is set to at least double in response to energy intensive sectors such as transport, building and manufacturing.

“”Consequently, we need to deploy low-carbon energy systems into every sector of the economy. Out of all renewable energy technologies, solar is the only one with the capacity to be integrated into cities and high population areas. We need technologies that will allow us to integrate solar panels into cladding, windows and every possible infrastructure. Our project aims to develop the adaptable and low-cost PV technology which can meet this huge challenge.

“What’s more, our research can substantially decrease the fabrication costs as well as removing critical (In, Ga, Te) and toxic elements (Cd) present in current commercial technologies.”

The team will investigate complex semiconductor compounds such as Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 with a very precise crystal structure. Their challenge is to formulate precursors and processing methods to ensure that each atom goes in the right place.

Professor Neil Fox from Bristol explains: “If you have the rogue Sn atom occupying a site in which we expect to find Cu or Zn, then we are in trouble. You don’t want to find SnS making a separate crystal either within your device. If the material has little grains of SnS at the surface, electrons will be emitted at lower energies (shunting), decreasing the power output of the solar cells.

“An incredibly exciting aspect of our research is that we can actually ‘see’ those atoms and how they arrange themselves.”

The 3.5 year programme is set to start in early June and the team aims to produce minimodules with power conversion efficiencies above 15 %, fabricated by scalable processes. The Centre for Process Innovation Catapult is a key project partner and will be assessing manufacturability across each innovation step in the research.

Dr Devendra Tiwari is leading the research team at Northumbria University and said: “To me, the highlight and challenge of the proposal are right there in the project title – ‘Solution Processing’. Solution processing is much less capitally intensive and is much readily suited to allow integration of solar cells to scaffoldings and windows than current manufacturing technology prevalent for thin-film solar cells. It therefore offers the opportunity to produce cost-effective integrated PV systems. The challenge is to demonstrate marketable performance and process scalability and solve issues from atomistic to device level. Such multilevel versatility and expertise to realise this lab-to-fab transition is what Northumbria brings to the team.”

Dr Jake Bowers is leading the research carried out at Loughborough University and said “This project is really exciting. Fabricating thin film solar cells with low cost solution processes has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of electricity produced from photovoltaics to the end user. What’s more, the fabrication processes used require significantly less energy than the manufacturing processes used traditional silicon based photovoltaics. This provides an extra added benefit as the UK aims for its net zero targets.”

Source link

Solar Energy

Scientists Probe Declining Earbud Battery Longevity

Published

1 day ago

February 5, 2025

sarosh

Scientists Probe Declining Earbud Battery Longevity

by Clarence Oxford

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 05, 2025

Have you ever noticed how electronic devices, including wireless earbuds, seem to lose battery capacity faster the longer you use them? An international research team from The University of Texas at Austin set out to examine this familiar issue, known as battery degradation, by focusing on the earbuds that many people rely on daily. Through a series of x-ray, infrared, and other imaging approaches, the researchers investigated the hidden complexities behind these tiny devices and revealed why their battery life declines over time.

“This started with my personal headphones; I only wear the right one, and I found that after two years, the left earbud had a much longer battery life,” said Yijin Liu, an associate professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, who led the new research published in Advanced Materials. “So, we decided to look into it and see what we could find.”

Their analysis showed that crucial earbud features – like the Bluetooth antenna, microphones, and circuits – compete with the battery in a very confined space, producing a microenvironment that is less than ideal. This situation results in a temperature gradient that damages the battery over time, with different sections of the cell experiencing variable temperatures.

Real-world factors also complicate matters. Frequent changes in climate, shifts in air quality, and a host of other environmental variables challenge the battery’s resilience. While cells are generally designed to endure harsh conditions, constant fluctuations can take their toll.

These discoveries highlight the importance of considering how batteries interact with devices such as phones, laptops, and even electric vehicles. Packaging solutions, strategic design decisions, and adaptations for user habits may all play a role in extending battery performance.

“Using devices differently changes how the battery behaves and performs,” said Guannan Qian, the first author of this paper and a postdoctoral researcher in Liu’s lab. “They could be exposed to different temperatures; one person has different charging habits than another; and every electric vehicle owner has their own driving style. This all matters.”

In conducting this study, Liu and his team worked closely with UT’s Fire Research Group, led by mechanical engineer Ofodike Ezekoye. They paired infrared imaging methods with their in-house x-ray technology at UT Austin and Sigray Inc. To expand their scope, they then teamed up with some of the world’s most advanced x-ray facilities.

Their collaborators included researchers from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, Brookhaven National Laboratory’s National Synchrotron Light Source II, Argonne National Laboratory’s Advanced Photon Source, and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in France. These partnerships allowed them to observe battery behavior under more authentic operating conditions.

“Most of the time, in the lab, we’re looking at either pristine and stable conditions or extremes,” said Xiaojing Huang, a physicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory. “As we discover and develop new types of batteries, we must understand the differences between lab conditions and the unpredictability of the real world and react accordingly. X-ray imaging can offer valuable insights for this.”

Looking ahead, Liu says his team will continue analyzing battery performance in the settings people experience every day. They plan to expand their approach to larger batteries, such as those in smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles, to learn more about their degradation patterns.

Research Report:In-device Battery Failure Analysis

Source link

Solar Energy

Quantum factors elevate plant energy transport efficiency

Published

1 day ago

February 5, 2025

sarosh

Quantum factors elevate plant energy transport efficiency

by Robert Schreiber

Munich, Germany (SPX) Feb 05, 2025

For countless engineers, converting sunlight into easily stored chemical energy stands as an enduring goal. Yet nature perfected this challenge billions of years ago. A recent study reveals that quantum mechanics, once thought to be limited to physics, is also essential for key biological processes.

Green plants and other photosynthetic organisms draw on quantum mechanical mechanisms to capture the sun’s energy. According to Prof. Jurgen Hauer: “When light is absorbed in a leaf, for example, the electronic excitation energy is distributed over several states of each excited chlorophyll molecule; this is called a superposition of excited states. It is the first stage of an almost loss-free energy transfer within and between the molecules and makes the efficient onward transport of solar energy possible. Quantum mechanics is therefore central to understanding the first steps of energy transfer and charge separation.”

Classical physics alone cannot completely describe how this phenomenon unfolds throughout green plants and in certain photosynthetic bacteria. Although the exact details remain only partly understood, Prof. Hauer and first author Erika Keil consider their new findings an important step toward uncovering how chlorophyll, the pigment behind leaf coloration, functions. Applying these insights to engineered photosynthesis devices could unlock unprecedented solar energy conversion efficiencies for both power production and photochemical applications.

In their investigation, the researchers focused on two portions of the light spectrum absorbed by chlorophyll: the low-energy Q band (yellow to red) and the high-energy B band (blue to green). In the Q region, two electronic states are quantum mechanically coupled, promoting virtually loss-free energy movement. The system subsequently relaxes via “cooling”, i.e. by releasing energy in the form of heat. These observations demonstrate that quantum mechanical processes can play a major role in shaping key biological functions.

Research Report:Reassessing the role and lifetime of Qx in the energy transfer dynamics of chlorophyll a

Source link

Solar Energy

HZB sets new efficiency record for CIGS perovskite tandem solar cells

Published

1 day ago

February 5, 2025

sarosh

HZB sets new efficiency record for CIGS perovskite tandem solar cells

by Robert Schreiber

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Feb 05, 2025

Researchers at Helmholtz Center Berlin for Materials and Energy (HZB) and Humboldt University Berlin have developed a CIGS-perovskite tandem solar cell that has set a new world record for efficiency, achieving 24.6%. The performance of the cell has been officially certified by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems.

Thin-film solar cells, such as those based on copper, indium, gallium, and selenium (CIGS), require minimal material and energy to manufacture, making them an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional silicon-based solar cells. CIGS thin films can also be applied to flexible substrates, expanding their potential applications.

The new tandem solar cell developed by HZB and Humboldt University combines a CIGS bottom cell with a perovskite top cell. By optimizing the contact layers between these two components, the research team successfully increased efficiency to a record-breaking 24.6%. This milestone was confirmed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, Germany.

This achievement was made possible through a collaborative effort among researchers. The top cell was developed by Thede Mehlhop, a master’s student at TU Berlin, under the supervision of Stefan Gall. The perovskite absorber layer was created in the joint laboratory of HZB and Humboldt University Berlin, while the CIGS sub-cell and contact layers were fabricated by HZB researcher Guillermo Farias Basulto. Additionally, the KOALA high-performance cluster system at HZB was used to deposit the perovskite and contact layers in a vacuum.

“At HZB, we have highly specialized laboratories and experts who are top performers in their fields. With this world record tandem cell, they have once again shown how fruitfully they work together,” said Prof. Rutger Schlatmann, spokesman for the Solar Energy Department at HZB.

HZB has a strong track record in achieving world records in solar cell efficiency, including past accomplishments in silicon-perovskite tandem cells and now in CIGS-perovskite tandem technology.

“We are confident that CIGS-perovskite tandem cells can achieve much higher efficiencies, probably more than 30%,” said Prof. Rutger Schlatmann.