[SUNSECA] Selenium Utilization for Novel Solar Energy Conversion Applications
Ente: European Commission
Scadenza: 2028-05-31
Importo max: 194.074,56 EUR
Paese: EU
Descrizione
In the incoming decades, Europe will face a surge in energy demand, driven by electrification, digitalization and the need of decarbonization. The European Union’s Green Deal urges a transition to renewable energy, targeting climate neutrality by 2050. Photovoltaic (PV) energy has emerged as a fundamental resource for this shift, offering scalable and decentralized power generation. However, meeting these goals demands next generation PV technologies that are sustainable, highly efficient and affordable. Among the emerging materials, selenium (Se) is a promising candidate for sustainable PV technologies due to its low toxicity, large abundance and high stability. Very recently, Se-based solar cells achieve efficiencies of 8% in outdoor and up to 15% for indoor applications. Despite its big potential, several challenges remain. One main barrier is the reduction of recombination losses to enhance the efficiency by optimizing interfacial band alignment and incorporating advanced charge transport layers. Additionally, film morphology and orientation strongly affect the charge transport and recombination dynamics within the solar cell. Another relevant issue is the replacement of toxic materials in the fabrication process. The project SUNSECA aims to develop Se-based PV devices for novel applications such as indoor, integrated PV and IoT. Research will focus on innovative approaches in the fabrication and post-deposition processes to optimize the structural and electrooptical properties of the Se thin films on different substrates. The proposed processes can be transferable to industry and present viable alternatives to the conventional ones. Different electron/hole transport layers as well as the interfaces will be investigated, and only inorganic and non-toxic materials will be used to ensure the stability and sustainability of the PV devices. SUNSECA will progress with the fabrication of novel high-efficient tandem devices architectures using Se-based top solar cells.
Settori: material science, photovoltaics, energy, nanotechnology
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