Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Lead-free halide perovskites for the highest efficient solar energy conversion

Project description

Environment-friendly and efficient perovskites

Electric energy produced from fossil fuels is responsible for the highest share of carbon emissions threatening EU zero-carbon ambitions. Solar energy has emerged as an alternative: available globally, it is directly converted into electric energy through photovoltaic solar cells. The most efficient solar cells are designed using halide perovskites, crystalline semiconducting materials that absorb high quantities of solar energy and generate an effective electric charge. The EU-funded FREENERGY project intends to re-design halide perovskite as an environmentally friendly photovoltaic material, in the form of a tin-based perovskite solar cell with high power-conversion capacity and long-term stability. FREENERGY will propose these cells as an alternative to existing lead-based ones, and establish a solvent-free method for preparing the perovskite.

Objective

Achieving zero net carbon emissions by the end of the century is the challenge for capping global warming. The largest share of carbon emissions belongs to the production of electric energy from fossil fuels, which renewable energies are progressively replacing. Sunlight is an ideal renewable energy source since it is most abundant and available worldwide. Photovoltaic solar cells can directly convert the sunlight into electric energy by making use of the photovoltaic effect in semiconductors. Halide perovskites are emerging crystalline semiconducting materials with among the strongest light absorption and the most effective electric charge generation needed to design the highest efficient photovoltaic solar cells. The PI has the ambition to reinvent halide perovskites as environmentally friendly photovoltaic material, aiming at:
(i) Removing lead: state-of-the-art perovskite solar cells are based on lead, which is in the list of hazardous substances of the European Union. The PI will prepare new tin-based perovskites and prove them in the highest efficient solar cells.
(ii) Solvent-free crystallisation: organic solvents drive the crystallisation of the perovskite in the most efficient solar cells. However, crystallising the perovskite without using solvents is more environmentally friendly. The PI will establish physical vapour deposition as a solvent-free method for preparing the perovskite and the other materials comprising the solar cell.
(iii) Durable power output: the long-term power output defines the solar energy yield and thus the return on investment. The PI aims to make stable tin-based perovskites addressing the oxidative instability of tin directly.
The quantified target of FREENERGY is demonstrating a tin-based perovskite solar cell with power conversion efficiency over 20% and stability for 25 years. The research strategy to enable this disruptive outcome comprises innovative perovskites formulations and unconventional supramolecular interactions

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.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

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.

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.

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.

ERC-STG - Starting Grant

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2018-STG

See all projects funded under this call

Host institution

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI FEDERICO II
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 1 500 000,00
Address
CORSO UMBERTO I, 40
80138 Napoli
Italy

See on map

Region
Sud Campania Napoli
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

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.

€ 1 500 000,00

Beneficiaries (1)

My booklet 0 0