Project description
Advanced nanowire heterostructures for innovative energy devices
Semiconductor nanowires have demonstrated exciting properties for energy technologies, offering material savings, improved conversion efficiency, and innovative products. The EU funded Nano Harvest project aims to explore innovative solutions for flexible photovoltaic and piezoelectric converters, leveraging semiconductor nanowires, with a particular focus on III-nitride semiconductors. Specifically, the project will develop nanowires with control by design functionalities, carefully engineering their structure at the nanoscale. The project’s focus will be the development of advanced nanowire heterostructures, as they are crucial for the project’s objectives. In the realm of photovoltaics, Nano Harvest will showcase an innovative concept of flexible solar cells based on polymer-embedded nanowires that are free-standing, enabling their integration with a wide range of supporting materials such as plastic.
Objective
The goal of NanoHarvest is to explore novel solutions for flexible photovoltaic and piezoelectric converters enabled by semiconductor nanowires. The first objective is to demonstrate an innovative concept of flexible solar cells based on free-standing polymer-embedded nanowires which can be applied to almost any supporting material such as plastic, metal foil or even fabrics. The second objective it to develop high-efficiency flexible and compact piezo-generators based on ordered arrays of nanowire heterostructures. The crucial ingredient - and also the common basis - of the two proposed research axes are the advanced nanowire heterostructures: we will develop nanowires with new control-by-design functionalities by engineering their structure at the nanoscale. The main focus of NanoHarvest will be on the III-nitride semiconductors, which are characterized by a strong piezoelectric response and have also demonstrated their ability for efficient photon harvesting in the blue and green parts of the solar spectrum. Our strategy is to address the physical mechanisms governing the energy conversion from the single nanowire level up to the macroscopic device level. The deep understanding gained at the nanoscale will guide the optimization of the device architecture, of the material growth and of the fabrication process. We will make use of Molecular Beam Epitaxy to achieve ultimate control over the nanowire morphology and composition and to produce control-by-design model systems for fundamental studies and for exploration of device physics. The original transfer procedure of the ordered nanowire arrays onto flexible substrates will enable lightweight flexible devices with ultimate performance, which will serve as energy harvesters for nomad applications.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology materials engineering colors
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors optical sensors
- natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
- engineering and technology materials engineering textiles
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels energy conversion
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2014-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
75794 PARIS
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.