Improved Understanding, Development and Optimisation of Perovskite-based Solar Cells

Completed

Renewable Energy Sources(Solar Energy, Photovoltaics)

Basic and strategic applied research

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Physics)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Professor J Walls
Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Loughborough University

Standard

EPSRC

01 January 2015

31 October 2017

34 months

£800,500

Energy

East Midlands

Energy : Energy

Professor J Walls, Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Loughborough University

Dr SA Boden, Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton
Dr A R Buckley, Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield
Dr K Durose, Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy, University of Liverpool
Professor J Durrant, Chemistry, Imperial College London
Professor Sir R Friend, Physics, University of Cambridge
Dr R Gottschalg, Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Loughborough University
Dr N Greenham, Physics, University of Cambridge
Professor P Lagoudakis, School of Physics and Astronom, University of Southampton
Professor DG Lidzey, Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield
Professor J Nelson, Department of Physics (the Blackett Laboratory), Imperial College London
Dr hjs Snaith, Oxford Physics, University of Oxford
Dr AB Walker, Physics, University of Bath

Project Contact, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), USA
Project Contact, Colorado State University, USA
Project Contact, M-Solv Ltd
Project Contact, Oxford Photovoltaics Limited
Project Contact, Ossila Ltd.
Project Contact, University of New South Wales

Solar is an increasingly important source of power generation. Word-wide installations of new solar modules will exceed 40GW in 2014 with over 1GW that capacity will be installed in the UK. The cost of modules has decreased sharply over the past two years due to over-supply from manufacturers. The cost reduction is now stimulating demand because the cost of energy from solar is now at 'grid parity' in some important regions of the world.An exciting new type of solar cell based on thin film perovskite light absorbers has been discovered in the UK which has the potential to lower costs still further. The discovery has been made by a team of researchers at Oxford University. The progress they have made with these new devices has been unprecedented and in only two years the Oxford team has achieved conversion efficiencies exceeding 17%. Moreover, the technology has been protected by filing patent applications on the fundamental discoveries.The Supergen Supersolar Hub comprises eight of the UK's leading University groups (including Oxford) engaged in the development of photovoltaic technologies. The Supergen SuperSolar Hub was quick to recognise the importance of the perovskite development and has already funded complementary research programmes in Hub member and Associate member laboratories through its flexible funding. This proposal for Supergen + funding will increase the scope and ambition of the Hub's perovskite research in modelling, synthesis, process optimization and characterization to boost conversion efficiencies still further and help maintain the UK's leadership position. In addition to the proposed research, proposals are made to increase the Hub's involvement with industry and with leading International laboratories to accelerate progress and lay the foundations for timely exploitation.

09/02/15