Project description
Inexpensive and eco-friendly copper for heterojunction solar cell metallisation
Photovoltaic technology promises to make a huge contribution to global energy needs with significant increases in efficiency and decreases in cost over the last decades. Heterojunction solar cells are among the most promising; however, the metallisation process that enhances performance and long-term reliability faces challenges. It generates high levels of emissions and relies on silver, contributing to over 30 % of production costs. The EU-funded iSPLASH project will develop a low cost and more sustainable copper metallisation process. It will pave the way to low-cost and more environmentally friendly heterojunction solar cells, encouraging uptake while ensuring this renewable form of energy is produced in an eco-friendly way.
Objective
Despite the boom in the photovoltaics industry, there are still barriers to solar cell deployment. Costly and cumbersome manufacturing processes emitting high levels of GHG are a major hindrance. A key step in cell manufacture is metallisation, representing over 30% of the cost of manufacture. Currently, heterojunction (HJT) cell metallisation utilises silver paste, which has major disadvantages in terms of cost, efficiency and environmental impact. Alternative metals, such as copper, can overcome these challenges; however, efficient process technology has not yet been brought to market. The iSPLASH project will cause a paradigm shift in HJT cell metallisation. Our technology will be the only processing technology on the market to cost effectively exploit the low price of copper and facilitate the reliable and precise, fine line deposition of copper onto HJT cells, completely eliminating the use of silver. iSPLASH technology will reduce metallisation costs by 90% and carbon emissions.
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 chemical sciences inorganic chemistry transition metals
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels renewable energy solar energy photovoltaic
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
00121 ROMA
Italy
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.