Conventional photovoltaic technology uses large panels, heavy, opaque, dark silicon, and this could be changed soon. IK4–Ikerlan Research Center is working with the University UPV / EHU- Basque in the European project X10D, to come up with alternatives to the current panels.
According phys.org what is needed to improve the functioning of cells with a large area are materials whose production cost less and are able to provide greater energy efficiency.
Solar panels currently available tend to be rigid and dark. Organic photovoltaic technology, by contrast, allows the fabrication of transparent and flexible solar panels in a variety of colors.
However, this technology must meet certain requirements if they will be accepted on the market: greater efficiency, durability and low production cost.
Thus, this research aims "to explore new materials ability to absorb solar energy and to seek appropriate strategies to move from the laboratory to real operations," emphasized Ikerne Etxebarria, a researcher at the UPV / EHU and IK4- Ikerlan.
The research team analyzed and the maximum size of a cell is and how great is the surface. Different cells with different structures and surfaces have been designed for this purpose. Once the results had been analyzed, "we found that cells of approximately 6 cm 2 strength was directly proportional to their size. In larger areas, however, the cell performance decreases considerably, "underlined Etxebarria.
The investigator came to the following conclusions: in order to be able to produce a large area solar cells, it is necessary to build modules with small area cells are connected in series or in parallel.
For the manufacture of the modules between the electrode layer to be structured, in other words, the cells must be connected to each other. "So far, the structure has been made mechanically or by laser, but is the risk of damaging the substrate. However, in this research, we developed a new technique for automatically structuring, "adds Ikerne Etxebarria.
This technique involves the transformation of the structure from the substrate surface in order to improve the efficiency of the cell. A further object of this research was to find a way to manufacture highly efficient cell. Therefore, the first step was to optimize the production of cells based on different polymers in order to achieve maximum efficiency of these materials; Second, the polymers which absorb light at different wavelengths were used for the production of tandem cell structure to make it more effective.
"Each polymer absorbs light at a different wavelength. Ideal would be to take advantage of all the sunshine, but there is no polymer capable of absorbing light at all wavelengths. So to be able to achieve efficient use of sunlight, one of the possibilities is to build structures such as tandem cells fabricated to fit with different polymers, one above the other, "said Etxebarria.
These tandem structures may be connected in series or in parallel. "I saw that, after several measurements, greater efficiency is achieved in cells connected in series" added the researcher.
The production of cells and polymers made using new materials will be much more cost-effective, since these polymers are produced in the laboratory as opposed to silicon to be operated.
