Helmholtz Association promotes HZB cooperation with Slovenia on perovskite silicon tandem solar cells
Marko Jošt was a PhD student in the HySPRINT-Lab in Steve Albrecht's group. Now he will continue his research on tandem solar cells at the university of Lubljana. © M. Setzpfandt/ HZB
A HZB team has successfully raised funds from the “Helmholtz European Partnering Program” of the Helmholtz Association to expand cooperation with partners of the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The topics of the cooperation are tandem solar cells made of perovskite and silicon and, in particular, their precise characterisation.
Currently, most solar modules consist of silicon, a semiconductor that mainly uses the red parts of the solar spectrum to generate electricity. The combination of silicon with perovskite semiconductors therefore promises great opportunities for even higher efficiencies. Semiconductor materials from this material class convert the energy-rich, blue parts of the spectrum into electricity.
Now the HZB physicist Prof. Dr. Steve Albrecht has raised funds from the Helmholtz Association to investigate such tandem solar cells with partners from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The TAPAS project is funded by the Helmholtz European Partnering programme for the next three years with 250,000 euros per year each. Following an evaluation, the funding period can be extended by two years. The Helmholtz European Partnering programme was set up to strengthen the European research area, in particular cooperation with countries in Southern, Central and Eastern Europe.
The name TAPAS stands for "Tandem Perovskite and Silicon solar cells - Advanced opto-electrical characterization, modeling and stability". Together with opto-electrical modelling, highly efficient and stable next-generation tandem solar cells are to be developed for the energy system of the future.
The Working Group for Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics at the University of Ljubljana (LPVO, headed by Prof. Dr Marko Topič) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin have established a very successful cooperation in recent years, which will be further strengthened by this funding. The aim of the cooperation is to analyse the processes that affect the stability of the modules in the field.
- Lithium-sulphur pouch cells investigated at BESSY IIA team from HZB and the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology (IWS) in Dresden has gained new insights into lithium-sulphur pouch cells at the BAMline of BESSY II. Supplemented by analyses in the HZB imaging laboratory and further measurements, a new picture emerges of processes that limit the performance and lifespan of this industrially relevant battery type. The study has been published in the prestigious journal Advanced Energy Materials.
- Largest magnetic anisotropy of a molecule measured at BESSY IIAt the Berlin synchrotron radiation source BESSY II, the largest magnetic anisotropy of a single molecule ever measured experimentally has been determined. The larger this anisotropy is, the better a molecule is suited as a molecular nanomagnet. Such nanomagnets have a wide range of potential applications, for example, in energy-efficient data storage. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Kohlenforschung (MPI KOFO), the Joint Lab EPR4Energy of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion (MPI CEC) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin were involved in the study.
- Catalyst Activation and Degradation in Hydrous Iridium OxidesThe development of efficient catalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) is crucial for advancing Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) water electrolysis, with iridium-based OER catalysts showing promise despite the challenges related to their dissolution. Collaborative research by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH and the Fritz-Haber-Institut has provided insights into the mechanisms of OER performance and iridium dissolution for amorphous hydrous iridium oxides, advancing the understanding of this critical process.