VALENCIA, 13 Dec. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Aimplas, Plastics Technology Institute, is working on the creation of flexible solar cells based on perovskites, a material with great potential in the development of advanced solar technologies.
Solar energy, as an inexhaustible, clean and renewable source, is emerging as a “crucial solution to meet the growing global energy demand.” However, traditional solar cell technologies, based on inorganic materials such as silicon, present challenges related to their cost and environmental impact.
As explained by the leading researcher in Engineering at Aimplas, Susana Otero, “flexible solar cells based on perovskites are more economical, versatile and environmentally friendly than silicon cells.
“With the Perovsol project, funded by Ivace, we want to advance in the manufacture of cells with this material using conventional printing technologies, such as screen printing and Slot-Die, which would significantly reduce production costs and pave the way for their commercialization. on a large scale,” adds the expert in a statement.
“In addition,” continues the researcher, “the production of perovskites is a good alternative to silicon and consumes much less energy, which constitutes an advantage when bringing said product to the market, both in terms of sustainability and costs and of industrialization”.
The work developed by Aimplas in the previous Solarflex project, focused on polymer solar cells, gives rise to a new line of research in flexible solar cells that is materialized in the Perovsol project, in which the leap is made to working on the active layer using perovskites, much more efficient, but also more reactive than polymer cells to oxygen and humidity, which requires working in an inert atmosphere to prevent oxidation.
In relation to environmental sustainability, the Perovsol project “contributes to the development of technology for the production of photovoltaic solar cells for renewable energy generation.” Likewise, the use of printing as a manufacturing technique allows the controlled deposition of the exact amount of material required, which will reduce the volume of waste generated in the manufacture of solar panels compared to more conventional technologies, those responsible highlight.
The initiative has the cooperation of leading companies in the different materials that will be used in the layer structure of the solar cell based on perovskites, such as Intenanomat for the electron transport and hole transport layers HIL, Omar Coatings in the field of resins for device encapsulation and ClearPet for the use of recycled PET material.
All of these companies are interested in new materials for the development of flexible solar panels that can be integrated into complex geometries, and in the use of the most efficient resources, in terms of materials used and energy in their processing.
In addition, Aimplas also collaborates with the Advanced Semiconductors Group of the Institute of Advanced Materials (INAM) of the Universitat Jaume I of Castellón, and with the UMDO group of the University Institute of Materials Science of the University of Valencia (ICMUV) who will contribute their experience in the formulation and characterization of the active layers of perovskites and the solar cell.
The project is included in the aid program of the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE) aimed at technological centers in the Valencian Community for R&D projects of a non-economic nature carried out in collaboration with companies for the year 2023, financed by the European Fund for Regional Development (ERDF) of the European Union within the framework of the 2021-2027 Operational Program.
