New project for environmentally compatible solar cells

 

Just recently the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) launched a project called “MatHero” that aims at making organic photovoltaics competitive to their inorganic counterparts by enhancing their efficiency, reducing their production costs and increasing their life-time. As the organisers of KIT state “green” processes for materials synthesis and coating play a key role.

To reach these objectives, the European project consortium studies environmentally compatible processes for materials synthesis, coating and printing. All novel printable materials are formulated using non-chlorinated solvents. “The use of environmentally compatible solvents is a major prerequisite for cost reduction, as complex safety measures on the industrial scale will no longer be required,” Dr Alexander Colsmann of KIT’s Light Technology Institute (LTI) explains. Together with Christian Sprau, Colsmann coordinates the project.

MatHero is funded by the EC under the 7th framework programme with an amount of EUR 3.5 million. Besides KIT, the research institutions Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research (IAP), Germany, the Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA) in France, and Acondicionamiento Tarrasense (LEITAT) in Spain participating in the project. The industry partners are Advent Technologies SA (Greece), and Arkema (France) and Eight19 Ltd (UK).