Novel Cells and Systems for Intermediate Concentration Photovoltaics

用于中聚光光伏的新型电池和系统

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-05704
• 负责人: Kleiman, Rafael
• 金额: $ 2.84万
• 依托单位: McMaster University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=752917
• 关键词: Novel; Cells; Systems; Intermediate; Concentration

In the last few years, there have been dramatic decreases in the cost of solar photovoltaics (PV) such that it is now the least expensive and most rapidly growing form of utility-scale electricity supply in many jurisdictions. Most PV energy is provided by silicon modules, where the cell cost is now only a small fraction of the overall system cost, making cell efficiency paramount in driving further reduction in energy cost. While the average efficiency of all PV cells deployed globally is only ~18%, commercial size cells have been demonstrated with an efficiency of 26.7% and deployed cell efficiencies are expected to continue to rise for the next 5-10 years, fundamentally limited to 29.4% by Auger recombination. In an alternate approach called concentrator photovoltaics (CPV), sunlight is focussed ~1000X onto a solar cell by an optical system that accurately tracks the sun. In this approach, very high efficiency multijunction solar cells which have reached a record 47.1% efficiency can be used because their high cost is mitigated by the high level of optical concentration. Despite these benefits, CPV systems remain costly as compared to the much simpler solar modules deployed at scale. In order to accelerate global PV deployment, new strategies at the cell/system level are required to further increase cell efficiency and lower system costs. One avenue that has not been fully explored is consideration of intermediate optical concentrations, in the range of 5-200X, where the main benefit of concentration - the use of higher-cost higher-efficiency cells - can still be accrued, but the cost and complexity of the concentrator system can be greatly reduced. At the system level, requirements for optical components and tracking systems become less stringent and we will develop novel low profile passive tracking systems, suitable for commercial rooftop applications. At the lowest concentrations (5-10X), non-tracking designs are possible and we will develop high optical-throughput concentrator systems. At the cell level, intermediate concentration makes it feasible to introduce more complex fabrication processes such as photolithography, CVD growth and ion implantation that are currently too costly for 1-sun applications. As one example, we have shown theoretically that use of repeated silicon cells for the base of a tandem cell opens up new material choices for the top cell, while still achieving high efficiency. We will further develop this concept and design/fabricate/test new cell designs for high-efficiency intermediate concentration applications. The anticipated outcome of this research program is a deep and comprehensive understanding of the scientific and technological opportunities of intermediate concentration photovoltaics, providing a long-term conceptual roadmap for future work. Working with Canadian industry, we will develop new high-efficiency and low-cost PV cells and systems for deployment in Canada and for export to the global market.

在过去几年中，太阳能光伏发电（PV）的成本大幅下降，使其成为许多司法管辖区最便宜且增长最快的公用事业规模电力供应形式。大多数光伏能源由硅组件提供，目前电池成本仅占整个系统成本的一小部分，这使得电池效率对于推动能源成本的进一步降低至关重要。虽然全球部署的所有光伏电池的平均效率仅为 18% 左右，但商业规模的电池已被证明具有 26.7% 的效率，并且部署的电池效率预计在未来 5-10 年内将继续上升，基本上被俄歇复合限制在 29.4%。在另一种称为聚光光伏 (CPV) 的方法中，阳光通过精确跟踪太阳的光学系统聚焦约 1000 倍到太阳能电池上。在这种方法中，可以使用非常高效的多结太阳能电池，其效率已达到创纪录的 47.1%，因为高水平的光学集中降低了其高成本。尽管有这些好处，但与大规模部署的简单得多的太阳能模块相比，聚光光伏系统的成本仍然很高。 为了加速全球光伏部署，需要在电池/系统层面采取新的策略，以进一步提高电池效率并降低系统成本。尚未充分探索的一种途径是考虑在 5-200X 范围内的中间光学聚光，其中聚光的主要好处 - 使用成本更高、效率更高的电池 - 仍然可以累积，但聚光器系统的成本和复杂性可以大大降低。在系统层面，对光学元件和跟踪系统的要求变得不那么严格，我们将开发适合商业屋顶应用的新型薄型无源跟踪系统。在最低浓度（5-10X）下，非跟踪设计是可能的，我们将开发高光通量聚光器系统。在电池水平上，中等浓度使得引入更复杂的制造工艺成为可能，例如光刻、CVD 生长和离子注入，这些工艺目前对于 1-sun 应用来说成本太高。作为一个例子，我们从理论上证明，使用重复的硅电池作为串联电池的底座，为顶部电池开辟了新的材料选择，同时仍然实现了高效率。我们将进一步开发这一概念，并为高效中间浓度应用设计/制造/测试新的电池设计。 该研究计划的预期成果是对中聚光光伏科技机遇的深入而全面的了解，为未来的工作提供长期的概念路线图。我们将与加拿大工业界合作，开发新型高效、低成本光伏电池和系统，用于在加拿大部署并出口到全球市场。