Improvement of solar cells - Nanotechnology to increase solar cell efficiency
Martin Møller Greve, Associate Professor, Department of Physics and Technology, UiB will have a look at the solar cell, its potential, some limitations and how we are addressing these and trying to squeeze even more efficiency from this device which has been on the commercial market for more than 50 years
Main content
Photovoltaic solar cells convert solar light directly to electricity and are a popular source for clean, renewable energy. In the last decade, a boom in solar installations has been seen all over the world and even locations such as Bergen large installations has been made. In addition to the need for renewable energy and incentives following this, lower price and increased efficiency are the main driving forces for this trend. It is pertinent to assume that further improvements in price and efficiency will continue to drive this further.
In the nanophysics group at Dept. of Physics and Technology we are working on pushing the efficiency of solar cells. We are currently focusing on silicon solar cells, as these constitute about 95% of the market. By applying tailored nanostructured elements, we have through theoretical works and simulations found that we can increase the efficiency for silicon solar cells with more than 1%. Importantly our idea is cost efficient and scalable. In this BEL seminar we will have a look at the solar cell, its potential, some limitations and how we are addressing these and trying to squeeze even more efficiency from this device which has been on the commercial market for more than 50 years.
Webinar speaker
Martin Møller Greve, Associate Professor, Department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen