A durable and scalable anti-soiling coating for solar modules

英国承诺到2050年实现净零碳排放。这将需要大规模改变发电方式，从燃烧化石燃料转向使用风能和太阳能等可再生能源。太阳能组件的成本在过去几年里大幅下降，免补贴部署正在迅速扩大，特别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。太阳能资产由专业经理提供资金，他们担心持续的维护运营成本会影响发电量和投资回报。特别是，引起人们注意的是盖玻璃被污染的问题，它会衰减进入模块的光线。在英国，污垢可以减少高达5%的发电量，在干旱的阳光地带地区，如印度和中东，这是一个严重得多的问题(高达50%)。以聚合物为基础的疏水防污涂料已被证明在原理上是有效的，但其耐久性不足以承受24/7暴露在环境压力下或定期清洁造成的磨损损害。本研究的目的是开发和测试一种用于太阳罩玻璃的薄型无机稀土氧化物涂层。疏水涂层表面能较低，降低了对污垢的附着力。它的应用将减少昂贵的清洁周期的频率。该涂层将能够使用与玻璃制造兼容的大气化学气相沉积工艺进行工业规模的应用。涂层的使用将显著提高太阳能组件的实际功率输出，并将在全球范围内产生影响。

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.