Solar Energy

Reduced nickel content leads to improved stability and performance for Ceramic fuel cells

Published

4 years ago

February 18, 2021

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Reduced nickel content leads to improved stability and performance for Ceramic fuel cells

A research team in Korea has developed a ceramic fuel cell that offers both stability and high performance while reducing the required amount of catalyst by a factor of 20. The application range for ceramic fuel cells, which have so far only been used for large-scale power generation due to the difficulties associated with frequent start-ups, can be expected to expand to new fields, such as electric vehicles, robots, and drones.

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) announced that a team led by Dr. Ji-Won Son at the Center for Energy Materials Research, through joint research with Professor Seung Min Han at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), has developed a new technology that suppresses the deterioration brought on by the reduction-oxidation cycle, a major cause of ceramic fuel cell degradation, by significantly reducing the quantity and size of the nickel catalyst in the anode using a thin-film technology.

Ceramic fuel cells, representative of high-temperature fuel cells, generally operate at high temperatures – 800 C or higher. Therefore, inexpensive catalysts, such as nickel, can be used in these cells, as opposed to low-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells, which use expensive platinum catalysts.

Nickel usually comprises approximately 40% of the anode volume of a ceramic fuel cell. However, since nickel agglomerates at high temperatures, when the ceramic fuel cell is exposed to the oxidation and reduction processes which accompany stop-restart cycles, uncontrollable expansion occurs.

This results in the destruction of the entire ceramic fuel cell structure. This fatal drawback has prevented the generation of power by ceramic fuel cells from applications which require frequent start-ups.

In an effort to overcome this, Dr. Ji-Won Son’s team at KIST developed a new concept for an anode which contains significantly less nickel, just 1/20 of a conventional ceramic fuel cell. This reduced amount of nickel enables the nickel particles in the anode to remain isolated from one another.

To compensate for the reduced amount of the nickel catalyst, the nickel’s surface area is drastically increased through the realization of an anode structure where nickel nanoparticles are evenly distributed throughout the ceramic matrix using a thin-film deposition process.

In ceramic fuel cells utilizing this novel anode, no deterioration or performance degradation of the ceramic fuel cells was witnessed, even after more than 100 reduction-oxidation cycles, in comparison with conventional ceramic fuel cells, which failed after fewer than 20 cycles.

Moreover, the power output of the novel anode ceramic fuel cells was improved by 1.5 times compared to conventional cells, despite the substantial reduction of the nickel content.

Dr. Ji-Won Son explained the significance of the study, stating, “Our research into the novel anode fuel cell was systematically conducted at every stage, from design to realization and evaluation, based on our understanding of reduction-oxidation failure, which is one of the primary causes of the destruction of ceramic fuel cells.” Dr. Son also commented, “The potential to apply these ceramic fuel cells to fields other than power plants, such as for mobility, is tremendous.”

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Solar Energy

New system offers early warning of dust storms to protect solar power output

Published

4 days ago

April 16, 2025

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New system offers early warning of dust storms to protect solar power output

by Simon Mansfield

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Apr 10, 2025

A new predictive platform called iDust is poised to transform dust storm forecasting and improve solar energy output in dust-prone regions. Developed by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, iDust offers high-resolution, fast-turnaround dust forecasts that could help mitigate power losses across solar farms, particularly in arid zones.

The tool was created under the leadership of Dr. Chen Xi from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics and detailed in the Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems (JAMES).

“Dust storms not only block sunlight but also accumulate on solar panels, decreasing their power output.” said Chen, outlining the motivation behind the project. With China’s rapid expansion of solar installations in desert areas, the need for precise and timely dust forecasts has become increasingly urgent to avoid operational disruptions and revenue shortfalls.

Traditional systems like those from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) often lack the spatial resolution and processing speed needed for optimal solar planning. iDust addresses these limitations by embedding dust-related dynamics directly into its forecast engine. This allows the system to generate forecasts with 10-kilometer resolution-a fourfold improvement over previous models-while maintaining near-parity in computational load. Crucially, iDust can deliver 10-day forecasts within six hours of initial observations.

The effectiveness of iDust was put to the test on April 13, 2024, when it successfully tracked a severe dust storm over Bayannur in northern China. Such storms can distort solar energy projections by as much as 25% if unaccounted for, underscoring the value of integrating dust modeling into energy planning.

Designed for practical deployment, iDust aims to assist solar facility operators and grid managers in optimizing power production and reducing losses due to airborne particulates. As China pushes toward its carbon neutrality goals, innovations like iDust will be central to achieving sustainable energy reliability.

Researchers plan to expand the system for global application, allowing other countries with desert-based solar assets to benefit from enhanced dust forecasting.

Research Report:The Efficient Integration of Dust and Numerical Weather Prediction for Renewable Energy Applications

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Solar Energy

Solar park boom threatens Spain’s centuries-old olive trees

Published

4 days ago

April 15, 2025

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Solar park boom threatens Spain’s centuries-old olive trees

By Rosa SULLEIRO

Lopera, Spain (AFP) April 14, 2025

At his farm in southern Spain, Francisco Campos looked worriedly at a green sea of centuries-old olive trees that he fears will face the axe to make way for a proposed solar park.

“Cutting down olive trees to install solar panels is a crime,” the 64-year-old farmer told AFP in Lopera, a town of whitewashed buildings with 3,600 residents in the sunny southern region of Andalusia, Spain’s olive-growing heartland.

Spain is the world’s top producer of olive oil, but the fertile agricultural land long used by olive producers is now in high demand from power firms looking to install solar farms.

And with nearly 3,000 hours of sunshine per year, Andalusia is one of the Spanish regions with the highest number of solar panels as a renewables boom makes the country a European leader in green energy.

Renewable energy firms such as Greenalia and FRV Arroyadas have requested permission to build multiple solar farms near Lopera, which farmers say will affect up to 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of property.

The businesses negotiated agreements to lease the bulk of the land required for their projects but encountered significant opposition from hundreds of small landowners.

This prompted the regional government of Andalusia to announce it will expropriate some land needed for the plants, declaring them to be in “the public interest”.

“Is it in the public interest for them to take my land and give it to a company so that the company can profit? This has no benefit for us,” said Campos.

“Our way of life is going to be destroyed,” he added.

– ‘From our ancestors’ –

Campaigners predict that the eight solar projects planned for the area will require the removal of nearly 100,000 olive trees.

The regional government puts the figure significantly lower, at 13,000.

Local residents anticipated power companies would seek to install solar panels in the area, but they never imagined “they would come and take away your property,” said Rafael Alcala, a spokesman for a platform that represents the solar plants’ opponents.

In support of landowners impacted by the latest round of expropriations, dozens of farmers on tractors — some holding signs that read “We don’t want solar plants” — gathered on a recent morning outside Lopera.

“These lands come from our ancestors. What am I going to leave to my children now?” Maria Josefa Palomo, a 67-year-old pensioner, said at the protest.

Losing 500 hectares of olive groves would wipe out more than two million euros ($2.3 million) in annual revenues, according to local olive oil cooperative La Loperana.

Campaigners say 5,000 olive trees have already been uprooted from land belonging to a farmer in Lopera who signed an agreement with one of the firms behind a solar park. More could follow.

In an effort to stop the projects, opponents have filed lawsuits against the regional government and the companies involved.

– ‘Until the end’ –

Spain generated a record 56.8 percent of its electricity last year from renewable sources such as wind and solar, according to grid operator Red Electrica.

Leveraging on its sunny plains, windy hillsides and fast-flowing rivers, Spain intends to raise the share of renewable-generated electricity to 81 percent of the total by 2030 as part of efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

The regional government has defended the renewables projects, saying less than one percent of the land they use in the region had to be expropriated from reluctant landowners.

Spanish solar industry group UNEF, which represents more than 800 companies, says the projects boost tax revenues in rural communities.

They generate “significant amounts” that can be used to improve public services, said UNEF head Jose Donoso.

Solar park opponents in Lopera disagree and vow to continue their fight.

“Until the end. Nobody is going to take what is ours away from us,” said Juan Cantera, a 28-year-old farmer.

“Olive oil is everything in Lopera”.

rs/ds/imm/gv/tym

RED ELECTRICA CORPORACION

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Solar Energy

Lighter flexible tandem solar cells set new benchmark in efficiency

Published

4 days ago

April 15, 2025

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Lighter flexible tandem solar cells set new benchmark in efficiency

by Riko Seibo

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Apr 15, 2025

The Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) has achieved a major milestone in solar technology by developing ultra-light and bendable tandem solar cells composed of perovskite and CIGS materials. These flexible solar cells have reached a record-breaking power conversion efficiency of 23.64 percent, the highest yet for their class.

Unlike traditional crystalline silicon-based cells, which are widely used due to cost efficiency and scalability, the new tandem design leverages thin-film technologies for enhanced adaptability. Silicon-perovskite tandems have reached up to 34.6 percent efficiency, but their weight and fragility restrict usage in weight-sensitive sectors such as aerospace and automotive. To address these challenges, KIER researchers turned to combining perovskite with copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), a semiconductor known for its flexibility and suitability for curved surfaces.

CIGS thin-film solar cells can be fabricated on substrates like polyimide and metal foils, making them ideal for integration into non-flat surfaces. However, these cells have historically faced obstacles in efficiency and ease of production. KIER’s innovation lies in both its materials engineering and a novel lift-off fabrication technique.

The team introduced a process in which a glass base is first coated with a polyimide layer. The tandem solar cell is then constructed atop this foundation and subsequently detached from the glass, producing a freestanding, flexible device. This method offers stability during fabrication and improves layer uniformity, which enhances performance and consistency.

Another breakthrough came from managing alkali metal diffusion. During fabrication, potassium atoms from the glass substrate can penetrate the CIGS layer, creating defects that impair charge mobility. Using computational modeling, KIER scientists showed that the polyimide coating effectively suppresses this unwanted diffusion, resulting in fewer structural flaws and better performance.

The culmination of these innovations was a solar cell that not only surpassed the previous efficiency benchmark of 18.1 percent for flexible perovskite/CIGS tandems but also maintained 97.7 percent of its output after 100,000 flexing cycles, confirming its mechanical resilience.

“This research is a key achievement that demonstrates the commercial potential of next-generation high-efficiency solar cell technology with flexibility and lightness,” said Dr. Inyoung Jeong. “It serves as an important milestone toward realizing ultralight, flexible solar cells with 30 percent efficiency in the future.”

Dr. Kihwan Kim, principal investigator of the project, added, “The power-to-weight ratio of the fabricated solar cell is approximately 10 times higher than that of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells, making it highly promising for applications in fields that require ultralight solar modules, such as building exteriors, vehicles, and aerospace.”

The study, published in the March issue of Joule (Impact Factor: 38.6), was conducted with support from KIER’s R and D Program and in collaboration with Professor Tae Kyung Lee of Gyeongsang National University and Professor Hae-Jin Kim of Yonsei University.

Research Report:Flexible and lightweight perovskite/Cu(In,Ga)Se2 tandem solar cells