Lambda Energy QD retrofit solution for improved photovoltaic efficiency

Lambda Energy QD 改造解决方案可提高光伏效率

• 批准号: 78707
• 金额: $ 34.2万
• 依托单位: LAMBDA ENERGY LTD
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Collaborative R&D
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=78707
• 关键词: Lambda; Energy; QD; retrofit; solution

Governments and companies across the globe have issued numerous pledges to reach net-zero CO2 emissions in the coming decades. However, the long term trends of energy consumption are clear, and the US Energy Information Administration predicts that global energy consumption will double by 2050\. Currently, global primary energy sources are more more than three quarters from fossil fuels. Meeting these pledges, and preventing catastrophic climate change, therefore requires the development of clean energy technologies. Lambda Energy is a clean energy technology company that exploits the unique optical properties of semiconductor quantum dots to improve the efficiency of silicon solar panels (which account for approximately 95% of installed solar power). Silicon solar panels perform poorly at short wavelengths (i.e., UV, and to some extent also blue) because short-wavelength light is very strongly absorbed by silicon, and so the electron-hole pairs that are generated by the absorption of light are not created in the optimal region of the solar cells, rather at the front surface. The idea of Lambda Energy's technology is that we absorb these shorter wavelengths using quantum dots before they reach the solar cell itself, and re-emit the light at longer wavelengths (i.e., red) where silicon solar cells exhibit optimal operation, by placing a layer of quantum dots at the surface of the solar panel. This approach is termed luminescent downshifting (LDS). The idea is not new, however, and in fact the effect was first demonstrated in the 1970s. Despite promising results, however, it has not yet been commercialised. The reasons for this relate to the difficulties of creating stable dispersions of materials that have suitable optical properties, and can survive being exposed to strong sunlight for 25 years or so (the expected lifetime of a solar panel), and moreover doing so in a cost-effective manner. Thanks to recent developments in nanomaterials processing, we believe it is now feasible to commercialise this technology. This project will develop a prototype LDS film that has the required optical properties to enhance the efficiency of silicon solar panels, can withstand the UV exposure that a solar panel is subjected to, and is suitable for application to existing solar panel arrays that are already installed. This will position us to carry out trials of the technology on existing solar panel arrays that are already installed, with the aim of increasing the power output of these installations by 10%.

地球仪各国政府和企业已经做出了许多承诺，要在未来几十年内实现二氧化碳净零排放。然而，能源消费的长期趋势是明确的，美国能源信息署预测，到2050年，全球能源消费将翻一番。目前，全球一次能源四分之三以上来自化石燃料。因此，履行这些承诺和防止灾难性的气候变化需要开发清洁能源技术。 Lambda Energy是一家清洁能源技术公司，利用半导体量子点的独特光学特性来提高硅太阳能电池板的效率（约占安装太阳能的95%）。硅太阳能电池板在短波长（即，紫外线，在某种程度上也是蓝色），因为短波长的光被硅强烈吸收，因此由光吸收产生的电子-空穴对不是在太阳能电池的最佳区域中产生的，而是在前表面。Lambda Energy技术的想法是，我们在这些较短波长的光到达太阳能电池本身之前使用量子点吸收它们，并以较长波长重新发射光（即，红色），其中硅太阳能电池通过在太阳能电池板的表面放置一层量子点而表现出最佳操作。这种方法被称为发光降频（LDS）。然而，这个想法并不新鲜，事实上，这种效应在20世纪70年代首次得到证实。尽管有很好的结果，但它还没有商业化。其原因涉及难以产生具有合适光学性质的材料的稳定分散体，并且可以在暴露于强烈阳光下25年左右（太阳能电池板的预期寿命）的情况下存活，并且此外以具有成本效益的方式这样做。由于纳米材料加工的最新发展，我们相信现在可以将这项技术商业化。该项目将开发一种原型LDS薄膜，该薄膜具有提高硅太阳能电池板效率所需的光学特性，可以承受太阳能电池板所受到的紫外线照射，并适用于已安装的现有太阳能电池板阵列。这将使我们能够在已经安装的现有太阳能电池板阵列上进行该技术的试验，目的是将这些装置的功率输出增加10%。