Objective
To continue the path of cost reduction in photovoltaics the efficiency of silicon solar cells must be increased. With higher efficiencies more kWh can be produced from the same amount of silicon, which is the dominating cost factor at present. Fundamental loss mechanisms limit the maximum achievable efficiency: around 20% of the incident power is lost, because photons with energies below the band-gap are transmitted. Upconversion of two low energy photons into one usable photon reduces these losses. In this project we will realize upconversion with the help of nanostructures and nanotechnoloy-based materials and show a significant improvement in solar cell efficiency. The combination of upconverting Er-based phosphors with PbSe/PbS core shell quantum dots increases the spectral range of light that is upconverted. The quantum dots will be incorporated into a fluorescent concentrator to achieve concentration within the upconverting device. Both the increased photon flux due to a wider spectral collection and the additional geometric concentration will increase upconversion efficiency because of its nonlinear characteristic. Optical nanostructures shall serve as selectively reflective structures that avoid unwanted parasitic absorption. The development of very efficient quantum dots and suitable host materials, the optimization of the upconverter and the fabrication of photonic structures are main objectives. Additionally, solar cells and system designs will be optimized, to make the best use of upconverted photons. A thorough understanding of the underlying principles is critical for the success, so gaining knowledge about nanostructures and materials is a major goal. The big advantage of this concept is that the solar cells remain fairly unchanged. The proposed concept opens a technology path for an evolutionary development of silicon solar cell technology to efficiencies towards 30%, starting from the solid base of today’s established silicon technology.
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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry metalloids
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels renewable energy solar energy photovoltaic
- natural sciences physical sciences theoretical physics particle physics photons
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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.
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.
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.
FP7-NMP-2009-SMALL-3
See other projects for this call
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.
Coordinator
80686 Muenchen
Germany
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.