Organic solar project using packaging technology

Dan Rogers - 17 Jun 2010

Organic solar cells could be given the lifetimes to become commercially viable by using barrier materials from the packaging industry.

A project launched on 14 June will adapt transparent barrier films - used in packaging to protect food and other items from the ingress of moisture or other damaging agents - for organic photovoltaics (OPVs).

Print materials provider Armor is leading the 'Organic Solar Cells by Armor' (OSCAR) project and will develop technology to make lightweight cells with longer lifetimes that are suitable for commercial manufacturing.

French research organisation CEA organised funding for OSCAR. Other partners include the French National Institute of Solar Energy, the Laboratory of Organic Polymer Chemistry, adhesives producer Plasto and packaging film supplier Amcor.

Transfer

The combination of OPV researchers and packaging and film producers aims to bring the barrier qualities of materials used in packaging and other applications to solar cells.

Bertrand Jannon, business development manager for high performance foil at Amcor, states: 'The high barrier film is based on a standard material, which we deliver to food packaging and pharmaceutical companies, for example. What is new is how to get an even better barrier performance, as organic electronics are very sensitive to moisture.'

Several years ago Amcor Flexibles investigated the nascent organic and printed electronics industry, observing potential opportunities in the provision of substrates for fabricating devices on and barrier films and DuPont Teijin Films has spent the past few years developing PET films, widely used in packaging, for organic and printed electronics applications.

Jannon says: 'OPV has a chance of being really successful if it can be produced at low cost. Our idea is to use the same material we provide for the packaging industry and adapt it, as we know how to produce good material in high volumes already.'

While barriers that can be manufactured for commercial OPVs protect them enough for lifetimes of around one year, OSCAR aims to achieve three-year lifetimes over the next two years of the project, and up to 5-7 years by the time the project ends in 2014.

Jannon suggests the medium-term goal of three-year lifetime would make the barrier materials suitable for commercial applications.

Mobile

He remarks: 'Something like a mobile phone charger gets used for maybe two years, and then people get rid of it and replace it with a new one.

'The target is to begin in mobile applications - not just mobile phones - providing power. We will get something on the market that can offer 2-3 years of lifetime, then address other applications while the lifetime of our film improves.'

The OSCAR consortium will now begin addressing the issues particular to OPV applications, and come up with a practical way to transfer barrier materials from packaging.

'We will look at weather-borne issues, such as withstanding UV light. We would use our standard material and then possibly apply some further coatings, or added treatments,' says Jannon.

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