Thermionic solar energy converter

将太阳光转换为电能提供了一条通向更清洁、更可持续的未来的有希望的途径。它也代表着一个快速增长的全球市场；最近，运力以每年15%-20%的速度增长。然而，尽管太阳能产业每年已经创造了数百亿美元的收入，但它仍然覆盖了不到世界电力需求的1%。今天，大多数太阳能发电机基于光伏效应及其变体(集中式光伏或热光伏)，或热能方法，如为涡轮机创造蒸汽。继续研究和开发这些技术是很重要的。与此同时，寻求有希望的替代方法也是至关重要的。一种不同的发电方法是热离子太阳能转换。热离子转换器可以具有非常高的效率，使用很大一部分太阳光谱，提供高功率密度，原则上简单而坚固。然而，由于与热量产生和管理相关的根本挑战，到目前为止，这些还没有成为现实。最近，由于不列颠哥伦比亚大学的研究小组在纳米结构材料中发现了一种不寻常的加热效应，并展示了基于这种效应的太阳热离子转换，情况发生了变化。该项目的目标是利用这一发现，为一种新的太阳能发电方法奠定基础，使加拿大能够成为世界领导者。该项目汇集了来自电气工程、物理和机械工程的研究人员的专业知识，与四个加拿大工业合作伙伴(Heliene、SunCentral、Plamionique、Jadoo Technologies)密切合作。除了与清洁能源相关的重大潜在经济效益以及社会和环境效益外，该项目还确保在快速增长的工业部门培训高素质的人员。

Conversion of sunlight to electricity offers a promising avenue toward a cleaner, more sustainable future. It also represents a rapidly growing worldwide market; the capacity has been increasing at 15-20 percent per year recently. However, although the solar industry already generates tens of Billions of dollars in revenue annually, it still covers less than one percent of the world's electricity demand. Today, the majority of solar electricity generators operate based on the photovoltaic effect and its variations (concentrated photovoltaics or thermal photovoltaics), or thermal methods such as creating steam for a turbine. It is important to continue research and development in these technologies. At the same time, it is crucial to also pursue promising alternative approaches.A different method of generating electricity consists of thermionic solar energy conversion. Thermionic convertors could have very high efficiency and use a large portion of the solar spectrum, deliver a high power density, and are, in principle, simple and robust. However, due to fundamental challenges associated with heat generation and management, these have not become a practical reality so far. Recently, the situation has changed due to the discovery of an unusual heating effect in nanostructured materials, and demonstration of solar thermionic conversion based on it, by our research group at the University of British Columbia. The goal of this project is to capitalize on this finding and establish the foundation for a novel approach to solar electricity generation in which Canada could become a world leader. This project assembles the expertise ofresearchers from electrical engineering, physics, and mechanical engineering, working in close collaboration with four Canadian industrial partners (Heliene, SunCentral, Plasmionique, Jadoo Technologies). In addition to significant potential economic benefits, as well as societal and environmental benefits associated with clean energy, this project ensures the training of highly qualified personnel in a rapidly growing industrial sector.