Project description
Printed solar cells turning ambient light into energy
Internet of Things devices are proliferating, and have streamlined and improved our lives. However, they also bring a new set of challenges to the industry, including limited battery life, excessive power consumption, and e-waste. With the support of the EIC-funded LAYER® project, France-based start-up Dracula Technologies aims to eliminate the use of lithium-ion batteries through its inkjet-printed photovoltaic technology. Dracula’s LAYER technology is an organic photovoltaic solution that generates energy from light to charge low-consumption indoor devices, even in low-light conditions. Because they are printed and not made of silicon, the organic photovoltaic modules can be customised to different shapes and sizes.
Objective
Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are one of the most important electrochemical energy storage system for IoT devices (in 2015, 5.6B LIBs were sold worldwide). However, lithium mining is extremely damaging to the environment and it harms the soil and causes air contamination. Furthermore, the typical estimated life of a LIB is about very short, 2/3 years or 300 to 500 charge cycles, whichever occurs first. Dracula Technologies has developed the LAYER, the green alternative to LIBs. The LAYER is an OPV module produced through inkjet printing that generates energy from ambient light and that is specifically designed for IoT devices, such as smart home tools. It consists of 2 electrodes,2 interfacial layers and the active LAYER, made of organic raw materials (semiconducting organic molecules or polymers, fullerene derivatives, non-fullerene derivatives). It is less than 5mm thick and its power conversion efficiency (PCE) under outdoor and indoor illumination is respectively 12% and 25%.
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.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
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.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
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.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
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.
HORIZON-EIC-ACC-BF - HORIZON EIC Accelerator Blended Finance
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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) HORIZON-EIC-2022-ACCELERATOR-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.
26000 VALENCE
France
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
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.