Sprng Energy, AMPIN, Juniper, ReNew, Avaada Win NTPC’s 1 GW Hybrid Auction

Biofuels Firm GPS Renewables Raises $50 Million in Debt Financing

Solar Auctions Surge by 229% in Q1 2024, Tender Activity Up 122%

Global Wind Installations Reached 1 TW Milestone in 2023

Funding and M&A Roundup: Nexamp Secures $520 Million

Project Finance Brief: Arevon Secures $352 Million for Posey Solar Project

Indian Oil Issues Empanelment Tender for Solar Power Projects

Southern Railway Seeks Bids for 1.2 MW Rooftop Solar Projects in Chennai

Husk Secures $4 Million from Electrifi to Scale up Mini Grids in Rural India

Doubling Transmission Capacity of Existing Grid Through Reconductoring: Report


					<table id="amazon-polly-audio-table">
						<tr>
						<td id="amazon-polly-audio-tab">
							<div id="amazon-ai-player-label">Listen to this article</div>
							<div id="amazon-ai-player-container">
			<audio class="amazon-ai-player" id="amazon-ai-player" preload="none" controls   controlsList="nodownload" >
				<source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/amazon_polly_64972.mp3?version=1712032882">
			</audio>
		</div>
							<div id="amazon-polly-subscribe-tab"></div>
							<div id="amazon-polly-by-tab"></div>
						</td>
						</tr>
					</table><p>A team of scientists from <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CSIRO</a>, the Australian National Science Agency, have reported a new record efficiency in roll-to-roll fully printed solar cells.</p>
<p>In a paper published in <em>Nature Communications</em> journal, the team demonstrated performances for solar cells of 15.5% efficiency on a small scale and 11% for a 50 cm2 module, a record for fully printed solar cells containing perovskite.</p>
<p>While silicon solar panels are rigid and heavy, printed solar cells are highly flexible and portable and have a wide range of applications ranging from urban construction, mining operations, emergency management, disaster relief, and space to defense and personal electronics.</p>
<p>The flexible solar cells were produced using a method in which all components of the device were fully printed from inks. Carbon-based inks were used to replace gold in the solar cell, dramatically reducing the cost while maintaining high performance.</p>
<p>The solar cells were printed using roll-to-roll techniques, which can be used to print solar cells on a long, continuous roll of plastic.</p>
<p>This lightweight and flexible solar technology, printed onto thin plastic films, is expected to expand solar cell usage and meet the growing demand for renewable energy.</p>
<p>&#8220;CSIRO&#8217;s thin and lightweight solar cells are now on the cusp of emerging from the lab to create clean energy in the real world. Roll-to-roll printing allows for the solar cells to be manufactured on very long, continuous rolls of plastic, which can dramatically increase the rate of production,&#8221; said the agency&#8217;s Renewable Energy Systems Group Leader Anthony Chesman.</p>
<p>The team, which collaborated with researchers from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Cambridge</a>, <a href="https://www.monash.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Monash University</a>, the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Sydney</a><u>,</u> and the <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of New South Wales</a>, solved several engineering problems across a large surface area of interconnected modules to achieve record results.</p>
<p>&#8220;We developed a system for rapidly producing and testing over ten thousand solar cells a day – something that would have been impossible to do manually. We&#8217;ve also alleviated the need to use expensive metals, such as gold, in their production by using specialized carbon inks, which further reduces production costs,&#8221; stated Principal Research Scientist Doojin Vak.</p>
<p>Incorporating an advanced material called perovskite, CSIRO&#8217;s printed solar panels differ from the silicon solar panels found on Australian roofs. &#8220;Our thin, lightweight solar can be easily transported anywhere there is sun,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>The team also sent the solar panels to space to test their performance, to further optimize and provide a reliable energy source for future space endeavors.</p>
<p>Recently, scientists from the National University of Singapore <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/record-efficiency-tandem-solar-cell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> a record energy conversion efficiency of 27.1% from a novel triple-junction solar cell, which promises to overcome current limitations in solar technology.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, researchers also <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/bulky-molecules-perovskite-solar-last-longer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that adding bulky molecules can make perovskite solar cells last longer, surpassing silicon solar cells&#8217; maximum theoretical efficiency.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/staff/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Staff</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"></div></div><div class="clearfix"></div></div></div>

Australian Scientists Report Record 15.5% Efficiency for Printed Solar Cells

<p>Researchers at the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Cambridge</a> claimed to have found a way to prevent the loss of electric current that declines the efficiency of organic solar cells.</p>
<p>Organic solar cells are flexible, semi-transparent, cheap, and environmentally friendly to produce. These cells can expand the range of applications for solar technology and could be wrapped around the exteriors of buildings. The cells could also be used for the efficient recycling of the energy used for indoor lighting.</p>
<p>The researchers said a loss pathway in organic solar cells makes them less efficient than silicon solar cells at converting sunlight into power. They found that a critical loss mechanism in an organic solar cell is caused by recombination to triplet exciton.</p>
<p>Electrons in solar can be lost through recombination, where electrons lose their energy and fall back into an empty hole state. Organic solar cells are more prone to recombination due to stronger attraction between the electron and hole in carbon-based materials than in silicon. Therefore, it requires electron donor material and an electron acceptor material to stop the electron and hole from rapid recombination.</p>
<p>To prevent the recombination of electrons and holes into triplet excitons, the researchers used a combination of spectroscopy and computer modeling. They engineered strong molecular interactions between the electron donor and electron acceptor materials. They also manipulated molecules inside an organic solar cell to prevent the loss of electric current through triplet excitons.</p>
<p>Alexander Gillett, the lead author from the University of Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory, said, “Organic solar cells can do lots of things that inorganic solar cells cannot, but their commercial development has plateaued in recent years, in part due to their inferior efficiency. A typical silicon-based solar cell can reach efficiencies as high as 20% to 25%, while organic solar cells can reach efficiencies of around 19% under laboratory conditions, and real-world efficiencies of about 10% to 12%.”</p>
<p>According to the researchers, this method provides a strategy to achieve organic solar cells with efficiencies of over 20% by stopping recombination into triple exciton states. They also offer design rules for electron donor and electron acceptor materials to achieve an efficiency of over 20%. The guidelines will enable chemistry groups to design new material that blocks recombination into triplet excitons and enhance organic solar cells with efficiency closer to silicon solar cells.</p>
<p>Last year, a research team from the South China University of Technology <a href="https://mercomindia.com/organic-solar-cells-claim/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">developed</a> a new method of producing organic solar cells, eliminating the need for potentially toxic materials while maintaining high conversion efficiencies.</p>
<p>Mercom had earlier <a href="https://mercomindia.com/organic-solar-cells-windows-generate-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that a research team from the University of Michigan set a new efficiency record for color-neutral, transparent solar cells, with 8.1% efficiency and 43% transparency through an organic/carbon-based design.</p>
<p>Image credit: University of Cambridge</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Harsh Shukla</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Harsh-Shukla-293x300-1-new.jpg" width="99" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Harsh Shukla</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/">More articles from Harsh Shukla.</a></p>
</div></div><div class="clearfix"></div></div></div>

Researchers Find a Way to Prevent Electric Current Loss in Organic Solar Cells

university-of-cambridge

Get the most relevant India solar and clean energy news.

RECENT POSTS