Oxford Photovoltaics, a new start-up commercialising research from Oxford University, has won £100,000 (€114,000) in funding from the UK government to develop its technology.
Oxford Photovoltaics' aim is to achieve unsubsidised electricity generation costs that are equivalent to the levelised energy cost (LEC) of fossil fuels, by screen printing dye solar cells on substrates such as glass.
The 8% efficiency of the demonstrator cells is promising and the predicted manufacturing costs are estimated at less than 50% below the cheapest thin-film technologies available.
Stability
The solar cell technology is semi-transparent and has the potential to remain stable for 20 years. The company is focusing on printing the cells on glass in order to supply the building-integrated photovoltaic market.
Dye solar cells have the potential to provide affordable solar for many applications including windows and steel for roofing and building façades. Liquid electrolytes are used in the cell's construct, which makes them challenging to seal. The level of volatile organic compounds in liquid electrolytes also limits the appeal of dye solar cells.
There are several R&D efforts to develop alternatives, such as work by Merck in Japan that is using ionic liquids to replace volatile solvents (for more information read volume 3, issue 2 of +Plastic Electronics magazine).
Oxford Photovoltaics' solution relies on its solid-state dye solar cell structures employing organic hole-transporter layers to replace the liquid electrolyte.
The UK government's Technology Strategy Board selected Oxford Photovoltaics for the funding award as part of a competition aimed at small enterprises launched in September.
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Oxford Photovoltaics
The UK start-up is creating dye-sensitised solar cells that can be manufactured more cheaply than existing thin-film technologies
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DSC-IC 2010
Webpage for the 4th International Conference on the Industrialisation of Dye Solar Cells
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Dye solar cell firm changes direction following investment
3G Solar, an Israel-based developer of dye-sensitised solar cells, is moving into on-grid applications for its technology as part of a new ownership strategy
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Dye-sensitised solar cell company entering commercial manufacturing
SolarPrint, an Irish dye-sensitised solar cell (DSSC) manufacturer, has announced plans to produce its devices on a commercial scale
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UK organic solar cell project to get more funding
A project in the UK with the aim of proving the feasibility of polymer semiconductor-based solar cells should win financing from private sources in the next few months
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The Future of Flexible and Thin-Film PVs
Technology forecasts to 2019, published by IntertechPira
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