I/UCRC Phase II: Next Generation Photovoltaics

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The IUCRC for Next Generation Photovoltaics (NGPV) is a two-site I/UCRC entering its second Phase of operation. The center comprises personnel and facilities at The University of Texas at Austin and Colorado State University. Energy sustainability represents one of the grand challenges facing modern society, and solar power provides an important source of renewable energy. Sunlight can be converted directly to electricity using a photovoltaic (PV) device, or solar cell, and the vision and long-term goal of the Next Generation Photovoltaics (NGPV) IUCRC is to help establish PV electricity as a major source of energy in the United States and the world. The NGPV IUCRC is at the forefront of PV research. The goals of this project are for the Center to bring technological, engineering, educational and policy advances to enable a significant increase in the use of PV and make solar electricity a major source of energy. The research program focuses on advancing PV materials and devices, seeking to improve device efficiencies while lowering cost, as well as other key issues facing the PV industry, including challenges associated with balance of systems (BOS), maintenance and operations (M&O), deployment strategies, policy and education. The NGPV IUCRC provides a collaborative environment between the PV industry and university researchers to enable ground-breaking advances in PV. To enable solar to be a major source of energy, the Center is working to introduce a number of technological, engineering, educational, and policy advances. During Phase I of the NGPV IUCRC, working in close collaboration with industry, new strategies have been developed to lower the cost of power generated by solar cells. For instance, key technologies have been created within the I/UCRC research program and translated into industry for commercial use by PV module producers and has resulted in the formation of three startup companies. Nearly 40 students at all levels have been trained in the center. To address the needs of the Industry, new research sites at Texas A&M University (TAMU) and the Colorado School of Mines are being created. Recruitment and training of students among under-represented groups will continue to be a focus effort of the NGPV IUCRC with the aim of significantly increasing the diversity of the workforce in both academia and the PV industry.