New Thermodynamic for Frequency Conversion and Photovoltaics

Project Information

ThforPV

Grant agreement ID: 638133

DOI

10.3030/638133

Project closed

EC signature date 22 May 2015

Start date 1 July 2015

End date 30 June 2020

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 1 500 000,00

EU contribution

€ 1 500 000,00

Coordinated by

TECHNION - ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Israel

Periodic Reporting for period 4 - ThforPV (New Thermodynamic for Frequency Conversion and Photovoltaics)

Reporting period: 2020-01-01 to 2020-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

In the past period, we described and demonstrated the new thermodynamic concept for solar energy harvesting called Thermally Enhanced Photoluminescence (TEPL) in few major publications (The Nature Communication 2016 paper was chosen by the Optical Society of America as the most important publication in solar energy for the year 2016). However, all these demonstrations were done with poor material quality. The quantum efficiency at high temperatures was very low, eliminating the practicality of the concept.
In this past year, we worked to improve the material quality, and in a recent paper, we demonstrated 20% of the incoming energy to be coupled to GaAs.
Recently, we solved the material issue by demonstrating 90% quantum efficiency while the crystal is operating at 600C. This is still unpublished.
Recently realized that the challenge in solar energy today is not the cost of photovoltaics (PVs) electricity generation, already competing with fossil fuel prices, but rather utility-scale energy storage costs. Alternatively, low-cost thermal energy storage (TES) exists, but relies on expensive concentrated solar power (CSP). A technology able to unified PV conversion with TES may usher in the era of efficient base-load renewable power plants.
Recently, we presented and demonstrated a new concept named luminescence solar power (LSP), where solar radiation is focused onto a photoluminescence (PL) absorber that absorbs the light, takes the heat, and emit “cold” radiation towered a PV. The emission has a narrow line shape that matches the band-edge absorption of a dual-junction PVs, which offers concentrated-PV above 35% efficiency with minimal heating of the PV. The heat remains at the PL-absorber at 600C, collected by heat transfer fluid (HTF), and converted to electricity at 40% turbine efficiency. Such an idea of using PL to separate free-energy (electricity) and high-temperature heat has never been explored before, even though each component of the system, namely the CSP, PVs, and the PL-absorber rely on mature technologies.
Based on this new concept, we are moving to commercialization. We received an ERC-POC grant as well as additional funding.
in 2020 we published a paper on the LSP concept.
Established a startup company to commercialize the LSP to the market
Additional theoretical paper is under review, where we show for the first time the inherent relation between quantum efficiency and emissivity. Two fundamental properties in optical that until now were considered as unrelated.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In 2016 we described and demonstrated the new thermodynamic concept for solar energy harvesting called Thermally Enhanced Photoluminescence (TEPL) in few major publications (The Nature Communication 2016 paper was chosen by the Optical Society of America as the most important publication in solar energy for the year 2016). However, all these demonstrations were done with poor material quality.
The quantum efficiency at high temperatures was very low, eliminating the practicality of the concept.
In 2017, we worked to improve the material quality, and in recent paper, we demonstrated 20% of the incoming energy to be coupled to GaAs in the paper:
N. Kruger, A. Manor, T. Sabaphati and C. Rotschild, Thermally enhanced photoluminescence: from fundamentals to engineering optimization, Emerging leaders, Journal of optics, (2017), http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2040-8986/aab87c/meta.
This paper is part of “ A focus edition in Journal of Optics mirroring the Journal of Physics Series' 50th anniversary celebratory initiative. Emerging Leaders special issues are aimed at recognizing the next generation of leaders within a research community. “
Additional academic activities related to the project in this period includes:
Awards:
Krill prize-granted by the Wolf Foundation for Excellence in Scientific Research.
Grants:
ERC-PoC ThforPV - REP-SCI-638133-1 accepted.
Patent: on the technology developed as part of the ERC project, submitted  

In 2018, we solved the material issue by demonstrating 90% quantum efficiency while the crystal is operating at 600C. A paper on this issue was published
N. Kruger, A. Manor, T. Sabaphati and C. Rotschild, Thermally enhanced photoluminescence: from fundamentals to engineering optimization, Emerging leaders, Journal of optics, (2018)***
*** This paper is part of Emerging leaders in various fields of optics.
For the TEPL concept and its realization, I won Hilda and Hershel Rich Technion innovation awards.

Since 2018 we realize that the biggest challenge in solar energy today is not the electricity generation price, which is already under fossil fuel price for photovoltaics (<0.04 $/kWh), but rather the ability to store utility-scale electricity at competitive prices. We invented the luminescent solar power (LSP) concept. In our concept, solar radiation is absorbed by a photoluminescent crystal that is heated through thermalization and efficiently emits towered a PV at its bandage. This way the PV’s efficiency is maximal while the heat remains in the crystal for CSP harvesting. Our analysis shows that we can enhance CSP efficiency by 50%.

In 2020 we published a paper on the LSP concept "S. Haviv, N. Revivo, N. Kruger, A. Manor, B. Khachatryan, M. Shustov, C. Rotschild, Luminescent solar power – PV/thermal hybrid electricity generation for cost-effective dispatchable solar energy, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces , 12, 32, (2020) https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c08185." See figure ToC1
We established the company to take this technology into the market "https://luminescentpower.com/"
I also won the 2020 Uzi & Michal Halevy Award for Innovative Applied Engineering for the LSP concept and its realization

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Based on our new unpublished results, we are moving to commercialization. We aim to demonstrate 100mmX500mm 50KW LSPreceiver with 50% enhanced efficiency operating in a real environment within 6 months.
We funded a start-up company to lead the commercialization of the LSP technology
We submitted a theoretical paper that expands Kirchoff law to nonthermal equilibrium, This is a high impact work that will be followed by an experimental demonstration.

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TEPL concept