Nicholas G. Demille / en U of T, international researchers develop more efficient two-sided solar cells /news/u-t-international-researchers-develop-two-sided-solar-cells-collect-scattered-light <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T, international researchers develop more efficient two-sided solar cells </span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/IMG_0394.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=_Q_q_IUj 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/IMG_0394.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=fRBibqll 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/IMG_0394.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=J36Edw2L 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/IMG_0394.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=_Q_q_IUj" alt="A bifacial perovskite/silicon tandem prototype"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>geoff.vendeville</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2021-01-12T11:42:41-05:00" title="Tuesday, January 12, 2021 - 11:42" class="datetime">Tue, 01/12/2021 - 11:42</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">A bifacial perovskite/silicon solar cell prototype is field-tested at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia (photo courtesy of Michele De Bastiani)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/nicholas-g-demille" hreflang="en">Nicholas G. Demille</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/solar" hreflang="en">Solar</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sustainability" hreflang="en">Sustainability</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ted-sargent" hreflang="en">Ted Sargent</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>To increase the performance of solar panels, a team of researchers based in Saudi Arabia, Italy, Germany and Canada has created a bifacial, or two-sided, tandem solar cell. The prototypes bring together the best of two separate technologies: silicon and perovskites.</p> <p>Out in the field, light primarily comes directly from the sun. Conventional tandem solar cells already convert this light into electricity more efficiently compared to traditional silicon-only solar cells by absorbing additional wavelengths of light.</p> <p>Now, researchers at the şüŔęĘÓƵ's Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering – with colleagues at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the University of Bologna and the&nbsp;Karlsruhe Institute of Technology – have realized that even more energy can be gathered using a two-sided tandem configuration. Light reflected and scattered from the ground –&nbsp;known as “albedo” – can also be collected to significantly increase the current of a tandem solar cell.</p> <p>The research, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-020-00756-8">published this week&nbsp;in the journal <em>Nature Energy</em></a>, outlines how the team engineered the perovskite/silicon device to exceed the currently accepted performance limits for the tandem configuration. The study’s authors include <a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-professors/">University Professor</a> <strong>Ted Sargent</strong>, in the&nbsp;Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering, and post-doctoral researcher&nbsp;<strong>Yi Hou</strong>.</p> <p>“By exploiting the albedo, we can now generate currents higher than in conventional tandems, without increasing the manufacturing costs at all,” said Michele De Bastiani of KAUST, co-lead author of this study.</p> <p>The potential for capturing indirect sunlight has been studied in the past, but without experimental verification. The researchers collaborated&nbsp;to solve the scientific and engineering challenges required to include indirect sunlight in the energy gathering capacity of their modules.</p> <p>With this knowledge, they tested the bifacial tandem solar cell in outdoor conditions, achieving efficiencies beyond any commercial silicon solar panel.</p> <p>“Bifacial silicon-only solar cells have rapidly taken an increasing share in the photovoltaics market, as they can lead to a performance gain of 20 per cent&nbsp;relative,”&nbsp;said Stefaan De Wolf, an associate professor of material science and engineering at KAUST.&nbsp;“Exploiting this concept in perovskite/silicon tandems now opens opportunities for ultra-high power generation at affordable cost.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 12 Jan 2021 16:42:41 +0000 geoff.vendeville 168036 at