Project description
Innovative methods reduce solar cell testing from months to just a week
To reach net zero by 2050, solar energy capacity must expand 30-fold. Perovskite solar cells offer a promising solution, with power conversion efficiencies matching top silicon cells and lower manufacturing costs. However, early perovskite cells had short lifespans, lasting only weeks instead of the 25 years needed for commercial application. Recent breakthroughs have extended their durability to over a year, prompting researchers to focus on accelerated testing to improve stability. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the STRESS-PV project will combine thermal and accelerated photodegradation methods to reduce testing times to days. By mimicking a decade of operation in one week, it will uncover how light damages cells, optimise stability and demonstrate reproducible fabrication of long-lasting, high-efficiency perovskite solar cells.
Objective
To reach net zero by 2050 a 30-fold expansion in solar energy capacity is required, necessitating cheaper alternatives to Si semiconductors. Perovskite solar cells have power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) equivalent to the best Si cells and are inherently defect tolerant, meaning they are cheaper to manufacture than Si. Early perovskite technology was restricted by short operating lifetimes with most cells lasting only a few weeks rather than the 25 years required for commercial application. Recent advances have produced perovskite cells with negligible degradation after a year in the field, however. Thus researchers are turning to accelerated testing to quantify lifetimes and speed up stability improvements. Current accelerated testing uses 1-sun illumination and increased temperature to estimate lifetimes under normal conditions. Even under extreme temperatures this procedure requires several months to approximate 5 years in the field. To further speed up this process and expedite stability improvements I shall combine accelerated thermal degradation with accelerated photodegradation to reduce testing timescales to a matter of days. To achieve this, I will describe the decay modes of illumination based on spectral intensity and shape, and derive from them acceleration factors which relate back to outdoor testing results, thus deriving a protocol which mimics a decade of operation in only one week. Not only will this work expedite stability testing, but it will also explain how cells are damaged by light and which wavelengths. I will use these photo/thermal degradation insights to advance techniques for improved stability under light and heat. The project will conclude with an accelerated aging protocol used to demonstrate reproducible fabrication of > 20% PCE perovskite solar cells with estimated lifetimes of 10 years.
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.
- natural sciences physical sciences electromagnetism and electronics semiconductivity
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels renewable energy solar energy photovoltaic
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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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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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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.
OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom
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