Development of novel graphene based inks to replace toxic and scarce materials used in thin film photovoltaics

开发新型石墨烯墨水以替代薄膜光伏发电中使用的有毒和稀缺材料

• 批准号: 83213
• 金额: $ 12.54万
• 依托单位: SEEDS CAPITAL LIMITED
• 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=83213
• 关键词: Development; novel; graphene; based; inks

The global pandemic saw energy demands fall dramatically as lockdowns were enforced across the world. In the UK, low power prices amid decreased demand due to lockdown measures, made it increasingly unprofitable to run coal plants resulting in no electricity being generated from coal for the first time since the 1800s. Fortunately, during this time Britain was able to generate its power from renewable energy sources. However, in poorer countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the deep inequalities in terms of access to modern, affordable and sustainable energy. Access to reliable energy is a lifeline, especially in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. It is essential not only for preventing and addressing the pandemic but also for accelerating the recovery and building back better by securing a more sustainable and resilient future for all.This project addresses the need of generating affordable, low carbon energy that guarantees security of supply by developing a key enabling technology to accelerate emerging solar cells, specifically 2nd and 3rd generation thin film photovoltaics (TFPV). These have the greatest potential to reduce cost and carbon emissions from the manufacturing process beyond the current State-of-the-Art (SOTA) first generation silicon-wafer photovoltaics (SPV). The challenge, however, is to vastly improve (1) the efficiency and (2) the stability of TFPV to compete with SPV and (3) replace toxic and scarce earth metals used in the manufacture of TFPV which prevent their contribution to security of supply.This project will address the challenge by developing a novel carbon nano-structure which has the potential to absorb a broader spectrum of light, to demonstrate an improvement on the state-of-the-art by increasing the efficiency of metallic TFPV beyond 30%. This is intended to overcome the challenge of manufacturing higher efficiency thin film photovoltaics (TFPV), with a higher stability for a longer product life and by using renewable and abundant materials to out-compete 1st generation silicon wafer photovoltaics (SPV). TFPV uses more efficient manufacturing processes than SPV however current State-of-the-art TFPV use unsustainable materials (toxic or scarce) and have poorer stability.This project will look to replace toxic or scarce materials used in TFPV to deliver organic, energy-efficient, printable solar inks that can be used in the active layer of TFPV, providing for flexible and scalable solutions to our energy needs, making the power system more resilient in the face of crisis and presenting the opportunity to develop a truly distributive energy system to generate and store power at or near where it will be used. This will vastly improve on the market penetration of renewable energy, due to the ability to integrate the technology onto an array of surfaces across multiple markets.This project is the first part of a wider programme to deliver a novel semi-conducting ink that uses the carbon nano-structures to maximise conversion of light to power. The TFPV prototype stages will be developed at CPI's Graphene, Formulation and Printable Electronics Centres to deliver a step change performance in flexible, lightweight solar cells. This promises low cost manufacturing with rapid scale-up.

由于全球范围内实施封锁，全球大流行导致能源需求急剧下降。在英国，由于封锁措施导致需求减少，电价低迷，使得燃煤电厂的运营越来越无利可图，导致自 1800 年代以来首次没有煤炭发电。幸运的是，在此期间英国能够利用可再生能源发电。然而，在较贫穷的国家，COVID-19 大流行凸显了在获得现代、负担得起和可持续能源方面的严重不平等。获得可靠的能源是生命线，尤其是在新冠肺炎 (COVID-19) 危机的背景下。这不仅对于预防和应对这一流行病至关重要，而且对于通过确保所有人拥有更可持续和更有弹性的未来来加速复苏和更好地重建至关重要。该项目通过开发关键的使能技术来加速新兴太阳能电池，特别是第二代和第三代薄膜光伏（TFPV）的发展，满足生产负担得起的低碳能源的需求，从而保证供应安全。与目前最先进的 (SOTA) 第一代硅片光伏 (SPV) 相比，这些技术在降低制造过程中的成本和碳排放方面具有最大的潜力。然而，面临的挑战是大幅提高 (1) 效率和 (2) TFPV 的稳定性，以与 SPV 竞争，以及 (3) 替代 TFPV 制造中使用的有毒和稀有土金属，这些金属阻碍了它们对供应安全的贡献。该项目将通过开发一种新型碳纳米结构来解决这一挑战，该结构有可能吸收更广泛的光谱，以证明对现有技术的改进 将金属TFPV的效率提高30%以上。此举旨在克服制造更高效率的薄膜光伏发电 (TFPV) 的挑战，具有更高的稳定性以延长产品寿命，并通过使用可再生和丰富的材料来超越第一代硅片光伏发电 (SPV)。 TFPV 使用比 SPV 更高效的制造工艺，但目前最先进的 TFPV 使用不可持续的材料（有毒或稀有）且稳定性较差。该项目将寻求替代 TFPV 中使用的有毒或稀有材料，以提供可用于 TFPV 活性层的有机、节能、可印刷太阳能墨水，为我们的能源需求提供灵活和可扩展的解决方案，使电力系统更具弹性 面对危机，并提供了开发真正的分布式能源系统的机会，以便在使用地点或附近发电和储存电力。由于能够将该技术集成到多个市场的一系列表面上，这将极大地提高可再生能源的市场渗透率。该项目是更广泛计划的第一部分，该计划旨在提供一种新型半导体墨水，该墨水使用碳纳米结构最大限度地实现光到电的转换。 TFPV 原型阶段将在 CPI 的石墨烯、配方和可印刷电子中心开发，以实现柔性、轻质太阳能电池性能的阶跃变化。这有望实现低成本制造并快速扩大规模。