PFI:AIR-RA: Advanced Thin-Film Photovoltaics for Sustainable Energy

该PFI：空气研究联盟项目专注于更高效的碲化镉(CdTe)光伏(PV)技术的转换和转让，这些技术来自下一代光伏中心(NGPV)在先进材料加工和器件方面的专业知识和发现，NGPV是美国国家科学基金会资助的产业和大学合作研究中心。目前，在世界许多地区，镉镉光伏发电具有竞争力(例如，在没有补贴的情况下，公用事业规模项目的发电成本为7-9美分/千瓦时)，而且成本正在迅速下降。然而，这项工作的目标是推动镉镉技术的发展，使太阳能在所有地区都成为个人家庭业主和各种应用的竞争能源，目前这些应用被认为过于昂贵，无法用电力完成。为了实现这一目标，根据本合同提出的工作将使设备效率显著提高，同时还将解决制造方法以降低成本。这可能对进一步发展美国的CdTe产业产生直接影响，具有显著的经济增长和创造就业的潜力。此外，这项研究的结果将带来具有成本效益的机会，用光伏技术取代温室气体排放技术，并对环境产生相应的好处。将得到加强的创新生态系统包括镉光伏技术领域的所有领先团队。拟议的项目将由科罗拉多州立大学(CSU)领导，该大学在成功的CdTe光伏研究方面有着悠久的历史，也是NGPV的创始成员之一。主要研究伙伴和第三方投资者将是美国最大的太阳能电池板制造商First Solar，Inc.。CSU还将加入英国拉夫堡大学可再生能源系统中心(CREST)、美国国家可再生能源实验室(NREL)和材料供应商5N Plus。学生将通过在研究项目上与行业合作以及在创新、创业和技术转让方面接受正式的学生培训，获得创业和技术转换经验。该项目在从研究发现转化为商业应用的过程中解决了以下技术差距。该项目将推进CSU最先进的沉积系统，并寻求两条不同的路线，以获得更高效率的制造友好型电池。第一条途径是推进独特器件结构的研究，将其推向商业化；第二条路线是开发适用于多结电池的具有更高带隙的光伏器件。此外，还将对这些先进设备进行详细的表征。拟议的努力将为大规模生产提供清晰的视线，并有可能显著提高基于单结和多结的CdTe太阳能电池的效率。

This PFI: AIR Research Alliance project focuses on the translation and transfer of higher efficiency Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) technologies that are derived from the expertise and discoveries in advanced materials processing and devices from the Next Generation Photovoltaics Center (NGPV), a NSF funded Industry and University Co-Operative Research Center. CdTe PV is currently competitive for generating electricity in many parts of the world (e.g. 7-9 cents/kWhr from utility scale projects without subsidy) and the costs are decreasing rapidly. However, the objective of this work is to advance the CdTe technology to the point where solar is a competitive source of energy in all regions for individual home owners and a variety of applications which are now considered too expensive to be done electrically. To achieve this, the work proposed under this award will enable a significant increase in device efficiency while also addressing manufacturing methods to reduce costs. This could have a direct impact on further developing the U.S. based CdTe industry with the potential for significant economic growth and job creation. In addition, results from this research will lead to cost-effective opportunities to displace greenhouse-gas emitting technologies with PV technology and corresponding benefits to the environment. The innovation ecosystem that will be enhanced includes all the leading groups in CdTe PV technology space. The proposed project will be led by Colorado State University (CSU), which has a long history of successful CdTe PV research and is a founding member of the NGPV. The primary research partner and third-party investor will be First Solar, Inc., the largest U.S. manufacturer of solar panels. CSU will also be joined by the Center for Renewable Energy Systems at Loughborough university in UK (CREST), the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and material supplier 5N Plus. Students will gain entrepreneurial and technology translation experience through working with industry on their research projects and formal student training in innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology transfer. This project addresses the following technology gaps as it translates from research discovery toward commercial application. The project will advance CSU's state-of-the-art deposition systems and pursue two separate routes to higher-efficiency manufacturing-friendly cells. The first route will be to advance the research on unique device structures to move them to commercialization, and the second will be to develop PV devices with a higher bandgap suitable for multi-junction cells. In addition, detailed characterization of these advanced devices will be performed. The proposed effort will have a clear line of sight to mass production and has the potential to significantly increase the efficiency of both single-junction and multi-junction CdTe-based solar cells.