UK project for cheaper photovoltaics
The University of Bath's Chemistry department has been given GBP500,000 to look at low cost ways of making the new cells from copper indium sulphide and copper indium gallium sulphide. New electroplating methods will allow cells to be put onto large area panels by immersing them in liquid rather than by using more expensive and less environmentally-friendly methods.
The project is funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and is entitled Photovoltaic Material for the 21st Century. It is the largest grant the EPSRC has made for solar energy research.
The other universities are Durham, Wales, Northumbria, Southampton and Loughborough. The companies are Crystalox, Mats UK, Millbrook Instruments, Epichem, Kurt J Lesker, Oxford Lasers and Gatan UK.
The project is part of the EPSRC's "Supergen" initiative, a GBP25mn project to look at alternative energy sources such as the sea, wind and the sun, and also at more efficient ways of storing power.
