Solar cell project receives Horizon 2020 funding

A new Horizon 2020-funded European research project is to develop extremely efficient thin-film solar cells for the next generation of more cost effective solar modules.

The ambitious Sharc25 project aims at an energy conversion efficiency in thin-film solar cells made out of copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) of up to 25%.

It will run for for three and a half years and will receive €4.6m in EU funding through the Horizon 2020 programme. A further €1.6m will be provided by the Swiss Government to support the participation of Swiss partners, including the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), which will particularly focus on developing innovative processes and solar cell designs for further efficiency enhancements.

Empa achieved an energy conversion efficiency rate of 20.4% in 2013 for CIGS solar cells on plastic foils, putting them almost on par with multi-crystalline solar cells. In 2014, the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) achieved even better for CIGS cells on glass, with 21.7%.

Sharc25 will pursue three strategies to improve on this by more than 3%: improve the absorber material, harness the power of new designs for more efficient surfaces and interfaces, and optimise light management to raise the efficiency threshold another few notches.

A 25% energy conversion efficiency would challenge the dominance of multi-crystalline solar cells from Asia, thereby giving the European thin-film solar industry a decisive boost.

The ZSW will co-ordinate the project consortium, which comprises a further nine research partners from eight countries. These include the universities of Luxembourg, Rouen, Parma and Aalto, IMEC, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Flisom AG, and Manz CIGS Technology GmbH.