By 2050, the European Union (EU) aims to be climate neutral. In pursuit of this goal, the first half of 2020 saw renewables — including solar, hydro, wind and bioenergy — produce more electricity than fossil fuels in the EU. To continue this trajectory, more efficient renewable power generation will be necessary. Graphene and related materials (GRMs) are enabling a new generation of solar technologies, as Patrik Johansson, vice director of the Graphene Flagship explains.
Solar cells provide reliable, clean, and renewable means of generating energy. Mainstream solar cell technology as it stands for a couple of decades is based on silicon, mainly due to its relative abundance in the Earth’s crust.
However, the silicon based solar cell technology is reaching the limit of its economic and practical efficiency. The laws of physics limit their maximum efficiency to ca. 32 per cent, and even reaching that level has so far proven either unachievable or not cost-effective. As a result, scientists have spent decades trying to come up with alternatives.
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs)
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are widely predicted to offer a solution, promising much better performance than their silicon counterparts. Progress in PSCs means that they are primed to become an affordable and flexible solar cell option for smart, low-intensity applications. This is because PSCs are less complex to produce, are made with cheaper materials and, due to their flexibility, can be used in locations where traditional silicon based solar cells cannot.
Although PSCs have shown excellent performance at lab-scale, their efficiency declines quickly as the module size increases. Their stability is also problematic. The longest lifetime reported is about one year, which is much shorter than the 25 years expected from commercialised technologies. This is where graphene comes in.
Graphene inks to stabilise PSCs
The Graphene Flagship is Europe’s biggest collaborative research initiative. Funded by the European Commission, the Graphene Flagship has the aim of bringing graphene technologies out of labs and into society within ten years — including technologies to support and advance renewable energy generation. For further information see the IDTechEx report on Graphene Market & 2D Materials Assessment 2021-2031.
Since the Graphene Flagship’s launch in 2013, the applications of GRMs in solar energy generation have been a strategic priority. In the current phase of the initiative, there are several projects and working groups doing research and innovation within the field of solar energy generation.
The Graphene Flagship spearhead project GRAPES aims to make cost-effective, stable graphene-enabled perovskite based solar panels. Alongside the Graphene Flagship, the industrial partners Greatcell Solar, BeDimensional and Siemens, introduce GRM based layered technologies to boost the performance and stability of PSCs to new record levels. The end goal is to use the graphene-enabled PSCs in functional panels, tested in the field.
As one example, the …….
Source: https://www.printedelectronicsworld.com/articles/25476/graphene-for-solar-power