How will Artificial Intelligence (AI) affect perovskite solar panel technology and development?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to have a significant impact on the future of solar panel technology, including the emerging perovskite solar cells. Here are some ways AI could influence solar panel technology:

  1. Improved efficiency: AI algorithms can analyze large amounts of data from solar panel installations to identify patterns and optimize system performance. This could lead to more efficient solar panels, including the new generation of perovskite solar cells, which have shown great potential in recent years due to their high efficiency, low cost, and flexibility.
  2. Lower costs: AI can help reduce the cost of solar panel production by streamlining manufacturing processes and minimizing material waste. This is especially important for perovskite solar cells, which are made from inexpensive materials and can be produced using low-cost printing techniques.
  3. Predictive maintenance: AI algorithms can detect potential problems in solar panel installations before they occur. This could help prevent downtime and reduce maintenance costs for perovskite solar cells, which are still relatively new and require more research to improve their stability and durability.
  4. Enhanced monitoring: AI can monitor the performance of solar panel installations in real-time, which is crucial for perovskite solar cells since they are more sensitive to environmental factors than traditional silicon solar cells. Real-time monitoring could help identify issues and optimize performance, especially in challenging weather conditions.
  5. Integration with other technologies: AI can be integrated with other technologies, such as energy storage systems and smart grids, to create more efficient and reliable renewable energy systems that incorporate perovskite solar cells.

Overall, AI has the potential to greatly enhance the efficiency, performance, and cost-effectiveness of solar panel technology, including perovskite solar cells. By leveraging AI, we can accelerate the adoption of renewable energy and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, leading to a cleaner, more sustainable future.

 

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The Ultimate Solar Panels Are Coming: Perovskites with 250% More Efficiency

Solar panels have long been a popular way to harness renewable energy, but the technology behind them has been slow to evolve. That is, until now. Researchers have been working on a new type of solar panel technology that promises to be even more efficient than traditional silicon solar cells. The technology is called perovskite solar cells, and they have the potential to revolutionize the solar industry.

Perovskite solar cells are made using a unique material that has been found to be highly efficient at converting sunlight into electricity. This material is called perovskite, and it is a type of crystalline structure that has a special ability to absorb sunlight. When sunlight hits the perovskite material, it causes an electrical current to flow through the material, generating electricity.

The efficiency of perovskite solar cells is what makes them so exciting. While traditional silicon solar cells have an efficiency rate of around 20%, perovskite solar cells have the potential to reach efficiencies of up to 50%. That means they can produce up to 250% more electricity than traditional solar panels.

One of the major benefits of perovskite solar cells is their cost. Traditional silicon solar panels are expensive to produce because they require large amounts of high-quality silicon. Perovskite solar cells, on the other hand, can be made using inexpensive materials and can be produced using simple manufacturing processes. This means they have the potential to be much cheaper than traditional solar panels.

Another advantage of perovskite solar cells is their flexibility. Traditional silicon solar panels are rigid and bulky, making them difficult to install on certain surfaces. Perovskite solar cells, on the other hand, can be made into thin, lightweight sheets that can be easily attached to a variety of surfaces.

Despite their many benefits, perovskite solar cells are still in the early stages of development. While researchers have been able to achieve high efficiencies in the lab, the technology has yet to be commercialized. There are still many challenges that need to be overcome, such as making the cells more durable and stable over time.

Despite these challenges, many experts believe that perovskite solar cells have the potential to revolutionize the solar industry. With their high efficiency, low cost, and flexibility, they could make solar energy more accessible to people all over the world.

If you’re interested in learning more about perovskite solar cells, Saving With Solar is a great resource. They have a category dedicated to perovskite solar cells, where you can find news, articles, and information about the latest developments in this exciting technology.

In conclusion, perovskite solar cells represent a significant breakthrough in solar panel technology. With their high efficiency, low cost, and flexibility, they have the potential to make solar energy more accessible and affordable than ever before. While there are still challenges to overcome, the future looks bright for perovskite solar cells.

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Doping Solar Cells | Perovskite Tech Upgrade!

Doping solar cells – Swinburne University have been making big improvements on their research in upgrading efficiency of perovskite solar cells. Let’s read more.

Doping Solar Cells | Perovskite Tech Upgrade!

Swinburne University have been working in conjunction with Wuhan University of Technology in China, the University of Melbourne, and the University of Adelaide. Their research is to do with ‘doping solar cells’ – using sunlight as a ‘healing process’ to improve cell efficiency and stability. ‘Doping’ perovskite solar cells with potassium is having a big effect on increasing stability and efficiency of the solar cells. 

We’ve written extensively about the potential that perovskite solar cells could have – potentially overcoming Shockley–Queisser limit (33.7% at 1.34 eV) means that the theoretical conversion limit silicon based solar cells has could be improved upon.

As per Wikipedia, Perovskite tech has been moving along in leaps and bounds over the past 5 years:

Solar cell efficiencies of devices using these materials have increased from 3.8% in 2009[3] to 24.2% in 2019 in single-junction architectures,[4] and, in silicon-based tandem cells, to 28.0%,[4] exceeding the maximum efficiency achieved in single-junction silicon solar cells.

With the potassium ‘doping’, the sunlight starts to repair ‘interface traps’:

“Sunlight becomes a trigger for the positive formation of potassium bromide-like compounds, eliminating the interface traps and stabilising the mobile ions, thus resulting in improved power conversion efficiency,” Dr Weijian Chen, an early career researcher at Swinburne, noted in comments on the Swinburne website.

“This research contributes to the rationalisation of the improved performance and guides future design protocol of better solar cells.” Dr Xiaoming Wen, senior research fellow at Swinburne continued.

“The demonstrated solar cell characterisation methods are at the cutting edge, and will help our industry partners develop a new protocol for commercial perovskite solar cells.” Director of Swinburne’s newly founded Centre of Translational Atomaterials (CTAM), Professor Baohua Jia said about the technology.

If you’d like to read more, the research, funded by the Australian Research Council under the Discovery Project program, has been published in Advanced Energy Materials.

 

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GreatCell Solar Enters Administration

Last month one of Australia’s longest running solar tech companies, GreatCell Solar, went into administration after the double blow of the death of their lead scientist and a failure to secure funding for its Dye Solar Cells prototype facility. 

GreatCell Solar Calls In Administrators

GreatCell Solar have unfrotunately had to call in administrators in December 2018 due to the death of their chief scientist and a problem with funding.

“The decision follows a series of unfortunate and unwelcome developments in recent weeks, including the untimely death of chief scientist Dr Hans Desilvestro in a mountaineering accident on 10 November,” Greatcell (ASX:GSL) told investors in mid-December. 

According to Stockhead, GreatCell has developed a third generation photovoltaic (PV) technology called Dye Solar Cells (DSC). DSCs are based on dye-sensitised films and are able to convert any visible light (including indoor low light) into electricity. They have been trying to get more funding for the tech but they’ve had problems with that too.

GreatCell Funding Fail

“Despite a global search and chasing down every potential funding opportunity, GSL has not been able to attract sufficient long-term equity investment,” the solar company said in a statement published on RenewEconomy:

“This is an extremely disappointing outcome for Greatcell Solar, its directors, employees and shareholders given the considerable investment already undertaken over many years to achieve an advanced, pre-commercialisation status for its 3rd generation photovoltaic technology.

“The Company is widely considered amongst its international peers to be pre-eminent in the field of Perovskite Solar Cell PV technology” the statement continues.

In late 2007 GreatCell were the recipients of a $6m ARENA grant to help fund research into perovskite solar cell technology. Unfortunately it appears that they’re somewhat stymied at the moment – but they still have a tech roadmap up on their website which leads us to still have some hope:

GreatCell Solar
GreatCell Solar Technology Roadmap (source: greatcellsolar.com.au)

Perovskite solar cells are gaining traction lately and this is the tech used in these prototypes. No word yet on what’s going to happen to Greatcell in 2019, but its statement didn’t leave a surfeit of hope: 

“With the appointment of Administrators, BRI Ferrier, the outlook for shareholders is uncertain at best” it reads. Fingers crossed they’re able to secure some more funding and get back to work with a new team. 

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Solar Tarp – foldable, portable solar power.

California based Lipomi Research Group are working on creating a solar tarp – which would have myriad uses for society. Let’s learn more about how these upgraded solar panels could help parts of the world where they don’t have access to regular electricity – and some of the technological challenges they’re facing trying to complete the project.

About the Solar Tarp technology

Prototype Solar Tarp Sample - University of California
Prototype Solar Tarp Sample – University of California (source: theconversation.com)

The Lipomi Research Group are focused on “identifying ways to create materials with both good semiconducting properties and the durability plastics are known for – whether flexible or not”.  They’ve been tinkering with perovskite solar cells, which are 1/1000 the thickness of a silicon layer in a solar panel. 

Darren Lipomi of the Lipomi Group, who is also a Professor of Nanoengineering at the University of California, said that their goal is to create flexible solar panels which are as efficient as conventional silicon but don’t have some of the drawbacks of it.

The goal is to develop flexible solar panels which are thin, lightweight, and bendable. Lipomi is calling their idea a ‘solar tarp’ – which refers to a solar panel which can be expanded to the ‘size of a room’, but balled up to the size of a grapefruit when not in use. The issues here are finding a molecular structure to make the solar panels stretchable and tough – this involves replacing the silicon semiconductors with materials such as perovskite. 

They’re also taking a look at polymer semiconductors / organic semiconductors (based on carbon, and used in place of perovskites or silicon in a solar cell). These aren’t as efficient, but are far more flexible and extremely durable.

According to The Conversation, the sunlight that hits the earth in a single hour contains more energy than the whole planet uses in an entire year – so there’s plenty more work to do on improving how we utilise the sun! We’ll keep an eye on the solar tarp project and let you know when it reaches the next stage.

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