Improved Understanding, Development and Optimisation of Perovskite-based Solar Cells

太阳能是一种越来越重要的发电方式。2014年，全球新太阳能组件的安装量将超过40GW，其中英国的安装量将超过1GW。由于制造商的供过于求，组件的成本在过去两年中急剧下降。成本的降低正在刺激需求，因为在世界上一些重要地区，太阳能的成本现在已经达到了“电网平价”。在英国发现了一种基于薄膜钙钛矿光吸收剂的令人兴奋的新型太阳能电池，它有可能进一步降低成本。这一发现是由牛津大学的一组研究人员发现的。他们在这些新设备上取得的进展是前所未有的，牛津团队在短短两年内就实现了超过17%的转换效率。此外，这项技术已经通过对基本发现提交专利申请而受到保护。Supergen超级太阳能中心由八个从事光伏技术开发的英国领先大学小组（包括牛津大学）组成。Supergen超级太阳能中心很快认识到钙钛矿开发的重要性，并已经通过其灵活的资金资助了中心成员和准成员实验室的补充研究项目。这项Supergen +资助提案将增加该中心在建模、合成、工艺优化和表征方面钙钛矿研究的范围和雄心，以进一步提高转换效率，并帮助保持英国的领导地位。除了拟议的研究外，还提出了增加中心与工业界和国际领先实验室的参与的建议，以加快进展并为及时开发奠定基础。

Solar is an increasingly important source of power generation. Word-wide installations of new solar modules will exceed 40GW in 2014 with over 1GW that capacity will be installed in the UK. The cost of modules has decreased sharply over the past two years due to over-supply from manufacturers. The cost reduction is now stimulating demand because the cost of energy from solar is now at 'grid parity' in some important regions of the world. An exciting new type of solar cell based on thin film perovskite light absorbers has been discovered in the UK which has the potential to lower costs still further. The discovery has been made by a team of researchers at Oxford University. The progress they have made with these new devices has been unprecedented and in only two years the Oxford team has achieved conversion efficiencies exceeding 17%. Moreover, the technology has been protected by filing patent applications on the fundamental discoveries.The Supergen Supersolar Hub comprises eight of the UK's leading University groups (including Oxford) engaged in the development of photovoltaic technologies. The Supergen SuperSolar Hub was quick to recognise the importance of the perovskite development and has already funded complementary research programmes in Hub member and Associate member laboratories through its flexible funding. This proposal for Supergen + funding will increase the scope and ambition of the Hub's perovskite research in modelling, synthesis, process optimization and characterization to boost conversion efficiencies still further and help maintain the UK's leadership position. In addition to the proposed research, proposals are made to increase the Hub's involvement with industry and with leading International laboratories to accelerate progress and lay the foundations for timely exploitation.