SCIENCE SPIN-OFFS

[chessmite]

TU/e researches cells
65 percent efficiency
Three researchers at Eindhoven University
of Technology (TU/e) want to develop solar
cells employing nanotechnology with more
than 65 percent efficiency. The Ministry of
Economic Affairs has made 1.2 million euro
available for this research into nano-wire
solar cells. According to the researchers, nano
technology, in combination with the use of
concentrated sunlight through mirror systems,
has the potential to lead to the world’s most
efficient solar cell system. The TU/e researchers
are working with Philips MiPlaza and expect to
achieve more than 65 percent efficiency with
their nano-structured solar cells.

Solterra enters Dutch chemistry consortium
for validation of high volume production
Solterra Renewable Technologies has entered into a process development agreement with
a consortium of advanced chemistry companies in the Netherlands, to validate high volume
production methods for its proprietary tetrapod quantum dots. The agreement follows the
MOU that Solterra, FutureChemistry and Flowid signed earlier. FutureChemistry and Flowid will
provide the expertise necessary to find optimal process conditions and scale the synthesis of
the quantum dots to necessary levels. With larger quantities of quantum dots, Solterra will be
enabled to pursue its goal of reaching 1GW of solar cell production. Pieter Nieuwland, research
director of FutureChemistry: ‘Testing new chemical reactions is often performed in a traditional
way: step by step. With the technology of FutureChemistry and Flowid, these reactions become
full-continuous processes that we can optimize with our software and translate to much larger
reactors. This project will will prove that the technology is reaching maturity.’

Four new solar projects under the ‘Pieken in de Delta’ banner
Pieken in de Delta’ (Peaks in the Delta)
is a Dutch government grant scheme.
The main starting point for the grant
scheme is the stimulation of area-specific
economic strengths in six Dutch areas:
expanding and reinforcing clusters that
are important for making the Netherlands
a competitive and dynamic economy
against the backdrop of a strong and
innovative Europe. At the beginning of
July, it was announced that four new
solar projects were to be awarded a grant
under the scheme:

CIGSelf
The CIGSelf project involves research and
development of new industrial level manufacturing
processes for CIGS solar cells. The
collaboration comprises the secretary Smit
Ovens, Dutch Space, ECN, Holland Innovative,
OTB Solar, Philips Applied Technologies,
Scheuten Solar, TNO and TU/e. A prerequisite
for raising CIGS to an industrial level is a
good laboratory process that can achieve
the requested high efficiency of more than
twelve percent so that cross-matching at
laboratory and industrial levels is possible.
Solar Focus Zuidoost
The basis for the Solar Focus Zuidoost (Southeast)
project is SunCycle’s Concentrated PV
(CPV) principle. The SunCycle solar panel
focuses sunlight onto a small solar cell. To
facilitate mass production, a manufacturing
process needs to be developed for all the
panel components that is suitable for mass
production and a set-up for computerised
assembly. In addition to SunCycle, other
parties are participating, being KMWE
Precisie Eindhoven, Neways Technologies,
TNO Industry & Technology and the
Radboud University Nijmegen. Following the
execution of the project, a production line
can be rolled out that manufactures solar
panels that deliver sustainable electricity for
€ 0.11 per kWh in the Netherlands and € 0.06
per kWh in Southern-Europe, lower than the
price of grey energy.
FAST ALD
In the project FAST ALD, the TNO spin-off
SoLayTec is to focus on adding an extremely
thin layer of aluminium oxide to the rear of
a solar cell using Atomic Layer Deposition
technology. The project focuses on the acceleration
of the ALD process by a factor of
one hundred, so that the production of solar
cells becomes economically feasible.
Zonnedag
The project Zonnedag will test and apply
new materials with which the performance
of solar panels can be considerably
improved. Above all, this will explore the
improvement of measurement and control
systems – the so-called junction box – and
the connection between the junction box
and the solar panel.
HIFLEX for new low-cost scalable
organic photovoltaics applications
The European research project HIFLEX was launched at the start of 2010. Over the next
three years a European consortium comprising five research institutes and two industrial
companies aims to jointly develop a technology for highly flexible Organic Photovoltaics
(OPV) modules, which will allow the cost-effective production of large-area OPV modules
with commercially viable Roll-to-Roll compatible printing and coating techniques. HIFLEX
will be coordinated by Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN). Organic Photovoltaics
(OPV) is considered as one of the important emerging photovoltaic technologies
which carry large hope for substantial cost reductions for PV in the future. The potential
for cost reduction is based on the compatibility with high throughput processing and the
use of low cost materials. The research in HIFLEX aims at developing the OPV technology
to match the particular requirements of mobile and remote ICT applications, delivering the
required efficiency under different light conditions, sufficient lifetime for practical use,
acceptable cost structure, appropriate power-to-weight ratio and fit-to-purpose mechanical
flexibility. HIFLEX intends to accelerate the exploitation of this OPV technology for a
wide variety of ICT products in the mobile electronics market.


was 56 pages....where they're been, where they're at, and there plan to become.........It would seem if they are aware of, have access to new (proven) technology, then it would be incorporated into their plan.
Seems like we're at the calm before......regardless, we need an update.