Transparent solar panels can turn buildings in power plants – climate change

The International Research Team of the CitySolar project, which brings together nine partners from seven countries, develops highly efficient transparent solar cells and modules that can be integrated into construction facilities (BIPV).

As it carries Balkan Green Energy NewsThe latest team’s achievements are multilayer solar modules based on perovic cells, which absorb ultraviolet radiation, and organic photovoltaic (OPB) cells, which catch infrared radiation.

The CitySolar project was first solved a key challenge in the development of transparent solar cells – balancing efficiency and transparency. Thanks to the combination of organic solar cells with the Perovski, the research team has achieved a 12.3 percent module efficiency with 30 percent transparency.

New materials in the development of solar cells

Perovskit is a material class with the same crystal structure as a mineral calcium-titanate (CATIO3), called the Russian mineralog of Lava Aleksejevic Pervo.

However, Perovski used in solar technologies are synthetic origin. Their chemical structure modifies in laboratories to improve efficiency, stability and security. Instead of calcium and titanium, certain organic molecules, metals and halogen elements, such as chlorine, bromine and iodine are added to the crystal grid.

Thanks to the unique structure and chemical composition, synthetic Perovski has an exceptional ability to absorb sunlight, which makes them especially suitable for use in solar cells.

Organic solar cells contain organic polymers or small molecules mainly of carbon materials to convert sunlight into electricity.

Unlike traditional silicon solar cells, which are made of solid and heavy materials, are lightweight, flexible and can be produced in thin layers. Both materials are very cheap for production, which makes technology cost effective.

Buildings that produce energy – the future of energy efficiency

The multilayer modules developed by the CitySolar are an ideal solution for buildings. They miss sunlight and can be integrated into windows, glass facades and roofs, allowing natural lighting, while on the other hand they catch sun radiation and converted into electricity.

One of the advantages of transparent solar modules integrated into buildings is that they produce electricity exactly where it is spent, unlike traditional solar power plants, which are often distant from spending places. This reduces the losses in transmission and minimizes the need to upgrade the power network.

« We move towards so-called energy consumption almost zero or zero, but with this technology we can go even further and create energy products, » this represents a huge Madsen from the University of Southern Denmark, one of the researchers.

The research team expects transparent solar cells to play a key role in future sustainable energy solutions. However, technology is not yet ready for commercialization, due to further challenges with balancing costs, aesthetics and efficiency. Madsen points out that the team is currently in negotiations with industrial partners on the possibilities of practical implementation of this solution.

The CitySolar project received 3.8 million euros from the EU Horizon 2020 program. The European Union aims to completely decade the construction sector no later than 2050. years, given that it currently consists of about 40 percent of total energy consumption.