A durable and scalable anti-soiling coating for solar modules

英国承诺到2050年实现净零碳排放。这将需要电力生产方式的巨大转变，从燃烧化石燃料转向使用风能和太阳能等可再生能源。过去几年，太阳能组件的成本大幅下降，无补贴部署正在迅速扩大，尤其是在公用事业规模上。据预测，到2030年，英国将有超过40GW的电力投入使用。太阳能资产由职业经理人提供资金，他们担心持续的维护运营成本会影响电力输出和投资回报。特别值得注意的是，盖板玻璃污染的问题会使进入模块的光衰减。在英国，污染会使电力输出减少5%，在印度和中东等干旱的阳光地带，污染问题要严重得多（高达50%）。聚合物基疏水防污涂料已被证明在原则上是有效的，但其耐久性不足以承受24/7的环境压力或定期清洁造成的磨损损伤。本研究的目的是开发和测试一种薄的无机稀土氧化物涂层，用于太阳能盖板玻璃。疏水涂层的表面能较低，减少了对污垢的粘附。它的应用将减少昂贵的清洗周期的频率。该涂层将能够应用于工业规模，使用与玻璃制造兼容的大气化学气相沉积工艺。该涂层的使用将显著提高太阳能组件的实际功率输出，并将产生全球性的影响。

The UK is committed to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This will require a massive shift in the way electricity is generated, away from burning fossil fuels and towards the use of renewable sources such as wind and solar. The cost of solar modules has reduced dramatically over the past few years and subsidy-free deployment is expanding rapidly, especially at utility scale. It is forecast that more than 40GW will be in use in the UK by 2030. Solar assets are financed by professional managers who are concerned by the ongoing operational costs of maintenance that affect power output and the return on investment. In particular, attention is being drawn to the problem of cover glass soiling that attenuates the light into the module. Soiling can reduce power output by up to 5% in the UK and is a far more serious problem (up to 50%) in arid sunbelt regions such as occur in India and the Middle East. Polymer-based hydrophobic anti-soiling coatings have been shown to work in principle, but their durability is not sufficient to withstand 24/7 exposure to environmental stresses or to abrasion damage caused by regular cleaning. The objective of this research is to develop and test a thin inorganic rare-earth oxide coating for application to solar cover glass. The hydrophobic coating will be low surface energy to reduce the adhesion to soiling. Its application will reduce the frequency of costly cleaning cycles. The coating will be capable of being applied at industrial scale using an Atmospheric Chemical Vapour Deposition process that is compatible with glass manufacturing. Use of the coating will significantly improve the practical power output of solar modules and will have worldwide impact.