Transcript 3GSolar

3GSolar Dye-Sensitized Solar
Cell Technology
Michael Schwartz
Chief Technology Officer
3GSolar Photovoltaics Ltd.
Leading Developer of 3rd Generation Photovoltaics
Optical Engineering 2014
February 2014
Outline
- Company Background
- What is a DSC?
- Why DSC?
- 3GSolar R&D Program
- 3GSolar Markets
- Summary
2
Background on 3GSolar Photovoltaics
- Start-up company located in Jerusalem, Israel
- Team of 15 with broad experience in solar energy, dye cells,
batteries, capacitors and materials
- Management headed by Barry Breen (CEO) and Dr. Jonathan
Goldstein (President)
- Recent funding round successfully completed with Solar
Partnership (UK), Israel Electric Co. and Ningbo (China)
- Aggressive business plan in place to raise efficiencies and
compete in the builidng-integrated and plastic PV market
sectors
3
Background on 3GSolar Photovoltaics
4
What is a DSC?
- DSCs first invented in 1991 by M. Gratzel and B. O’Regan
- Described as an artificial photosynthesis
- Cells are comprised of a photoanode of nano-titania coated
with a self-assembling monolayer of dye, a redox
electrolyte and a nanocarbon-based counter electrode on
glass (cathode)
5
What is a DSC?
-
Titania
-
-
-
-
Nanosized 15-40nm with high surface area
Dyes
-
Ruthenium-based using polypyridyl ligands
-
Phthalocyanines and porphyrins
-
Wide range of organic dyes
-
Need to have proper energetics
-
LUMO above TiO2 conduction band
-
HOMO below electrolyte redox potential
Electrolyte
-
Iodide/triiodide couple most common but record performance with
Co2+/3+ couple
-
Also solid-state hole conducting polymers
Cathode Catalyst
-
Pt most common but carbon nanotubes, graphene and others used
6
DSC State-of-the Art
3GSolar Relative Performance
7
Why DSC?
DSCs Have Several Advantages over Conventional PV
Features
Screen Printing
Manufacturing
Nanoparticle Ceramic
Structure
Advantages
Inexpensive Process
Not Vacuum Based
Low Light Operation
Transparent
Thin Film
Flexible
Lightweight
Dye as Light Absorber
Range of Colors
Benefits
Low cost of production
Low plant Cap Ex
Smaller Plant Sizes –profitable at <20MW
For outdoor applications, can produce up to 40%
more power per rated watt than conventional
silicon over the course of the day; For indoor
applications produces >100uW/cm2 where
amorphous Si produces <5uW/cm2
Can be used in windows, skylights, sunroofs, etc.
Can be shaped to fit surfaces of consumer
electronics or building structures
Useful for portable devices
Adding and/or matching of colors to building
interior or exterior surfaces
8
Why DSC?
DSCs Have Several Advantages over Conventional PV
Features
Screen Printing
Manufacturing
Nanoparticle Ceramic
Structure
Advantages
Inexpensive Process
Not Vacuum Based
Low Light Operation
Transparent
Thin Film
Flexible
Lightweight
Dye as Light Absorber
Range of Colors
Benefits
Lower cost of production – $0.35/W
Lower plant Cap Ex - $0.35million/MW
Smaller Plant Sizes –profitable at <20MW
For outdoor applications, can produce up to 40%
more power per rated watt than conventional
silicon over the course of the day; For indoor
applications produces >100uW/cm2 where
amorphous Si produces <5uW/cm2
Can be used in windows, skylights, sunroofs, etc.
Can be shaped to fit surfaces of consumer
electronics or building structures
Useful for portable devices
Adding and/or matching of colors to building
interior or exterior surfaces
9
Why DSC?
3GSolar DSC module shows >10% difference in cumulative
energy production per watt over the course of a sunny day
1200
8.0
Pyranometer
3GSolar DSC Module
>10%
c-Si Module
1000
800
600
4.0
400
2.0
Normalized Energy (Wh/Wp)
Solar Irradiance (W/m^2)
6.0
200
0
6:00
9:00
12:00
15:00
0.0
18:00
Time of Day
10
Why DSC?
Better Light Conversion Over Course of Day
11
Why DSC?
Normalized Accumulated
Energy
Normalized Accumulated
Energy
Better Light Conversion Over Course of Weeks
100
12% difference
75
50
3G Solar DSC Module 1
25
Si Module
0
150
125
100
75
50
25
0
System down
18% difference
3G Solar DSC Module 1
Si Module
12
Why DSC?
Better Light Conversion under Indoor Conditions
At 200 Lux, the 3GSolar DSC is 9.5 times more efficient than an
18.5% efficient mono-crystalline Si cell, and 3.5 times more
efficient than an amorphous Si cell.
13
Why DSC?
DSCs Have Several Advantages over Conventional PV
Features
Screen Printing
Manufacturing
Nanoparticle Ceramic
Structure
Advantages
Inexpensive Process
Not Vacuum Based
Low Light Operation
Transparent
Thin Film
Flexible
Lightweight
Dye as Light Absorber
Range of Colors
Benefits
Lower cost of production – $0.35/W
Lower plant Cap Ex - $0.35million/MW
Smaller Plant Sizes –profitable at <20MW
For outdoor applications, can produce up to 40%
more power per rated watt than conventional
silicon over the course of the day; For indoor
applications produces >100uW/cm2 where
amorphous Si produces <5uW/cm2
Can be used in windows, skylights, sunroofs, etc.
Can be shaped to fit surfaces of consumer
electronics or building structures
Useful for portable devices
Adding and/or matching of colors to building
interior or exterior surfaces
14
Why DSC?
DSCs Have Several Advantages over Conventional PV
•Transparent DSC module installed
in algae growing tank producing
both biomass and electricity in
same area.
15
3GSolar R&D Program
Technical Issues
-
Our goal is to achieve 10% efficiency in a large (225cm2) cell
with 20 years stability
-
Areas requiring additional R&D to achieve this goal:
-
Use of larger portion of visible spectrum, particularly into the IR
-
Higher voltage operation
-
Electron transfer kinetics, especially for non-iodide electrolytes
-
Better use of module area (active vs. total module area)
-
Flexible/Plastic
-
Transparent
16
3GSolar R&D Program
Technical Issues
-
Our goal is to achieve 10% efficiency in a large (225cm2) cell
with 20 years stability
-
Areas requiring additional R&D to achieve this goal:
-
Use of larger portion of visible spectrum, particularly into the IR
-
Higher voltage operation
-
Electron transfer kinetics, especially for non-iodide electrolytes
-
Better use of module area (active vs. total module area)
-
Flexible/Plastic
-
Transparent
17
3GSolar R&D Program
Capturing More Light
Incident Photon to
Current Efficiency
Now
80
71%
IPCE [%]
60
40
20
0
400
-
500
600
700
800
How?
-
New dyes and dye combinations
-
Optical effects
-
Upconversion or downconversion
18
3GSolar R&D Program
Durability Under Sunlight
Efficiency ratio for each individual cell in the two year experiment performed
outdoors in Jerusalem. The efficiency ratio is the ratio of efficiency at the start of the
experiment to efficiency at the end of the experiment.
19
3GSolar R&D Program
Flexible/Plastic Cells
-
Inexpensive
-
-
Can be conformal to surface
-
-
Glass large DSC cost component
Embedded power source for small
devices, energy harvesting
We’ve achieved an efficiency of 7.8%
under 1 sun
15X15CM PLASTIC
DEMO CELLS
20
3GSolar Large Module
32 Series-Connected Cells of 225cm2
21
3GSolar DSC Markets
Building-Integrated Photovoltaics
Off-grid power
Curtain walls and windows
PV for greenhouses
Overhangs, awnings & parasols
22
3GSolar DSC Markets
Energy Harvesting/Embedded Devices
Sensing
3GSolar Plastic Cell
Consumer
Eliminate batteries in low power consumer electronics
Wireless devices
Security cameras
Healthcare
23
Summary
- DSC is the 3rd generation of photovoltaic technology
- Poised to enter the market
- DSCs have several advantages over conventional PV
-
Low Cost
-
Low-Light Operation
-
Potential for Transparency
- 3GSolar has fabricated the world’s largest single cell
-
Performance of glass and plastic cells at the State-of-the
Art for large areas
- Technical issues still remain
-
3GSolar has an active R&D program to solve these
remaining issues
24
Acknowledgements
- 3GSolar Coworkers
-
Barry Breen (CEO), Jonathan Goldstein (President), Katya
Axelrod, Itzhak Barzilay, Nir Stein
- Academic Partners
-
Prof. A. Zaban (BIU)
-
Prof. D Oron (WI)
-
Prof. D Cahen (WI)
-
Prof. D. Aurbach (BIU)
-
Prof. C. Sukenik (BIU)
- Support from the Office of Chief Scientist (Eurostars,
COBRA and NES)
25
THANK YOU
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