Complementary expertise
The group of SOLARLab PIs represents a very broad range of expertise that is needed to reach the research goals:
- Complementary expertise: we represent experts in materials design and synthesis, structural and functional characterization of materials, computational materials science, device physics and modeling, thin-film fabrication and large-scale deposition
- Diversity in experience: we cover the entire range from early-career researchers to senior research leaders
- Diversity in institution: the main hubs represent four universities (UG, TUD, TUE, UT), one NWO institute (AMOLF) and one technology institute (TNO), geographically spread all over the Netherlands
- Diversity in gender: The group of PIs is composed of about 40 % women and 60% men. The PhD and postdocs in these groups represent about 30% women and 70% men. These relatively high female fractions are exceptional for a physics/chemistry/engineering-based research effort in the Netherlands
- Collaborative spirit: All groups have experience in working closely together. All main hubs have joint publications with multiple other hubs in the past three years. See the figure that represents joint publications between institutions
Awards
Awards won by SOLARLab PIs
- International awards
ENI Renewable Energy Award, EU Becquerel Prize, EU Descartes Prize, EPS Research into the Science of Light Prize, MRS Innovation in Materials Characterization Award, Springer Applied Physics Prize, MIT TR Innovator, WIN Rising Star, edX Prize - National awards
Spinoza Prize, NNV Physica Prize (2), Jacob Kistemaker Prize, Koninklijke Shell Prize, KNCV Gold medal, NOZ-PV Prize, Teyler Prize, Prose Award, KIVI research prize, Minerva Prize (2) - Fellowships
Frew Fellowship, Aspasia Fellowship, Sustainable Energy Technology Fellowship, MacGillavry Fellowship, Mercado Fellowship - Academy memberships
KNAW member (3), Young Academy member (1) - ERC and NWO personal grants
ERC Advanced Grant (6), ERC Consolidator Grant (2), ERC Starting Grant (5), NWO: VENI (3), VIDI (4), VICI (3), NWO-ECHO (3), PIONIER (1), NWO-TOP (4).
Principal investigators
| Name | Institution | Specialization |
| Prof. Dr. Albert Polman | AMOLF, UvA | Light management in PV materials, electron microscopy of PV materials |
| Prof. Dr. Erik Garnett | AMOLF, UvA | Synthesis, materials science and spectroscopy of perovskite materials |
| Prof. Dr. Bruno Ehrler | AMOLF, UG | Synthesis, materials science and spectroscopy of perovskite materials |
| Dr. Esther Alarcón Lladó | AMOLF | Electrochemical growth of PV materials, spectroscopy of PV materials, light management in PV materials |
| Dr. Wiebke Albrecht | AMOLF | Electron microscopy of PV materials, spectroscopy of PV materials |
| Prof. Dr. Elias Vlieg | RUN | Thin film III-V solar cells |
| Dr. John Schermer | RUN | Multi-junction III-V solar cells, concentrator systems |
| Prof. Dr. Gianluca Coletti | TNO | Tandem technology, device architecture, passivating film, silicon materials |
| Dr. Sjoerd Veenstra | TNO | Perovskite solar cell processing, up-scaling methodologies |
| Dr. Veronique Gevaerts | TNO | Thin-film solar cell technology, packaging, reliability |
| Dr. Bonna Newman | TNO | Circular solar modules and customizating PV |
| Dr. Mirjam Theelen | TNO | Reliability and stability of thin-film solar modules |
| Dr. Dong Zhang | TNO, TUE | Perovskite solar cell processing, integration in tandems |
| Prof. Dr. Arthur Weeber | TNO, TUD | Process integration for high-performance devices, deposition technologies and functionality of thin-films |
| Prof. Dr. Olindo Isabella | TUD | Crystalline silicon photovoltaic technology and light management in PV architectures |
| Prof. Dr. Miro Zeman | TUD | High-performance tandem solar cells |
| Prof. Dr. Arno Smets | TUD | Thin-film silicon multi-junction solar cells |
| Dr. Tom Savenije | TUD | Optical-electronic properties of novel inorganic and organic semiconductors |
| Dr. Luana Mazzarella | TUD | Novel hybrid tandem solar cells |
| Dr. Rene van Swaaij | TUD | Advanced Si-based solar cells |
| Prof. Dr. Ivan Gordon | TUD | Digital photovoltaics |
| Dr. Patrizio Manganiello | TUD | Photovoltatronics |
| Dr. Hesan Ziar | TUD | Urban energy (X-IPV systems and custom applications) |
| Dr. Rudi Santbergen | TUD | PV multi-scale modelling |
| Prof. Dr. Laurens Siebbeles | TUD | Nanocrystals, 2D-materials, charge/exciton transport |
| Dr. Ferdinand Grozema | TUD | Perovskites, organic materials, singlet fission, upconversion |
| Dr. Arjen Houtepen | TUD | Colloidal nanomaterials, electrochemistry, spectroscopy |
| Dr. Erik van der Kolk | TUD | Luminescent solar concentrators |
| Prof. Dr. Rene Janssen | TUE | Organic and inorganic semiconductors and devices |
| Prof. Dr. Adriana Creatore | TUE | Charge transport and passivation layers |
| Dr. Shuxia Tao | TUE | Computational materials design of perovskite absorbers, interfaces and synthesizing chemistry |
| Prof. Dr. Erwin Kessels | TUE | Thin-film solutions for PV |
| Prof. Dr. Erik Bakkers | TUE | Nanowire solar cells |
| Dr. Jos Haverkort | TUE | Nanowire solar cells |
| Dr. Michael Debye | TUE | Luminescent solar concentrators |
| Prof. Dr. Maria-Antonietta Loi | UG | Materials physics. Metal halide perovskite optical properties and solar cells. |
| Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Portale | UG | Crystallization and structuring of materials, in-situ and operando X-ray scattering and diffraction |
| Prof. Dr. Jan Anton Koster | UG | Physics of novel semiconductors and their devices |
| Dr. Loredana Protecescu | UG | Chemistry of nanomaterials, synthesis of quantum dots and perovskite materials for PVs |
| Dr. Graeme Blake | UG | Synthesis, crystallography and materials science of perovskite materials |
| Dr. Remco Havenith | UG | Theoretical chemistry, photophysical properties, singlet fission |
| Prof. Maxim Pchenitchnikov | UG | Ultrafast exciton and charge dynamics in organic PV |
| Dr. Rebecca Saive | UT | Light management in photovoltaic devices, solar cell device physics, materials interface analysis |
| Dr. Annemarie Huijser | UT | Spectroscopy of perovskite solar cells |
| Dr. Eli Shirazi | UT | |
| Dr. Linn Leppert | UT | Electronic structure calculations for perovskites |
| Dr. Menno Bokdam | UT | Electronic structure calculations for perovskites |
| Prof. Dr. Jurrian Schmitz | UT | Solar cell device physics and characterization |
| Prof. Dr. Monica Morales Masis | UT | Materials Science and thin film synthesis of halide perovskites and contact materials for solar cells |
| Prof. Dr. Angele Reinders | UT | Applications of PV technologies |
| Prof. Dr. Andries Meijerink | UU | Upconversion PV materials, spectral conversion, quantum dots |
| Prof. Dr. Daniel Vanmaekelbergh | UU | PV quantum dot materials |
| Dr. Celso de Mello Donega | UU | PV quantum dot materials |
| Prof. Dr. Wilfried van Sark | UU | PV performance analysis and forecasting |