The Future of Photovoltaics: Organic, Perovskites, CIGS, Tandem

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In this talk, we will list the performances that CEA achieved in Apolo European project with flexible cells and modules. As compared to cells, module fabrication requests specific steps like large deposition uniformity or laser scribing. We will also highlight the importance of the stability and the challenges related to encapsulation

Dr Stéphane CROS has a PhD in the field of nanocomposite organic/inorganic materials (ESPCI, Paris, 2002 He joined the CEA in 2004, where he is in charge of stability/lifetime in the CEA-LCT laboratory (INES institute) making Perovskite and tandem Silicon/Perovskite solar cells. Senior Expert.

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Organic photovoltaics (OPV) and organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite photovoltaics (PePV) are promising PV technologies that can be manufactured using industrial roll-to-roll (R2R) printing which is a widely used mass-production technique for low-cost products. These emerging PV technologies have been making exciting progress toward commercial applications and the efficiencies of the laboratory cells (19.2 % for OPV and 25.7 % for PePV) are already high enough to enter the PV market. However, the efficiency of R2R-produced PV still lags behind those achieved for champion laboratory cells. This is attributed to the materials, processes and device configurations developed for research purposes not being readily translatable to R2R printing, with significant material and process optimisation required to achieve compatibility with scalable R2R processes. The time-consuming optimisation process has delayed the translation of these technologies to the marketplace, necessitating a new revolutionary research method.
Here we present an automated R2R research platform to accelerate the progress of R2R-fabricated solar cell technologies. A bespoke R2R coater was developed to optimise formulations and fabrication parameters including deposition conditions, coating speed, and annealing temperature. An in-situ formulation technique was introduced to fabricate over 10,000 unique cells a day via unmanned operation, and an automated R2R PV measurement unit has also been developed to test this number of cells in a single day. This innovative approach has enabled the rapid progress of R2R-fabricated solar cells, resulting in vacuum-free R2R-fabricated PePV and OPV devices achieving PCEs of 17% and 10%, respectively, both of which are record PCEs in their class, and with the technology still improving rapidly. The optimised parameters have also been translated to the R2R fabrication of large-area modules. The recent progress on the upscaling will also be presented.

We will show equipment scaling, application methods from small width to big scale and the importance of Industry4.0.

Eliminate your need of disposable batteries with indoor light power

by Thomas Österberg | RnD Director, Epishine | thomas.osterberg@epishine.se

In the expanding IoT age more things are being connected, a lot of small devices are powered by batteries. Batteries that need to be replaced on a regular basis and then recycled. The manufacturing of these batteries has large impact on the environment, likewise the recycling process is expensive and energy consuming. The accelerating digital transformation requires new solutions such as energy harvesting to cut the maintenance cost of battery replacements and reduce the environmental impact by trillions of disposable batteries. Epishine has developed a solar cell optimized for indoor use. The light energy harvesting (LEH) modules are optimized to convert light from indoor lighting into energy enough to power small electronic devices.

High power conversion efficiency has never been as crucial as today, not only for accomplishing the global environmental targets but also for the survival itself of the PV industry. Concepts such as multijunc- tion and tandem solar cells have been part of the PV technology roadmap for a long time. Two sub-cells of inexpensive solar absorb- ers with different bandgaps are combined. Several challenges are evident in accomplishing this, and strategic decisions regarding pro- cessing seem unclear. An overview of the performance-size evolu- tion shows the multiple advantages of using slot-die coating. A clear path for scalability, potential short cycle times, and easy processing on non-flat substrates make slot-die coating a strategic choice for
moving the field forward.

The paper will discuss vacuum deposition technologies developed by Fraunhofer FEP for next generation organic, thin-film and tandem devices.

Focus is on large area deposition of barrier, electrode and active layers on rigid and flexible substrates in sheet-to sheet and roll-to-roll technology.