Research

Solar Cell Design

We work on new design principles for solar cells and solar cell manufacturing.

Si cell

New contact layers for solar cells, for example to remove scarce materials and to improve the transparency and conductivity.

Better light management in solar cells to increase the absorption of sunlight.

Combination of solar cell research with artificial intelligence to accelerate the discovery of materials, devices and fabrication technology.

Solar Energy Materials

We work on novel materials, for example halide perovskites, that can lead to more efficient, more sustainable solar cells.

Nanoscale characterization (optical, structural, interfaces) of solar cell materials to improve the intrinsic performance of these semiconductors.

Increases in the long-term stability of the materials, for example by reducing ion migration and encapsulation strategies.

Pb

Improvements of the sustainability of solar cell materials, for example by reducing the amount of toxic ingredients.

Integration of Solar Cells

We develop solar cells that can be seamlessly integrated into buildings, infrastructure and other surfaces, and more efficient solar cells to decrease the land use.

Coloured solar panels to match the appearance of buildings and other surfaces which allows for aesthetic integration.

Integration of two solar cells to increase the efficiency. These “tandem” solar cells generate a quarter more electricity than conventional solar cells.

Ultra-light-weight solar panels from sustainable materials like bio-plastics, to enable installation on roofs that are not strong enough for conventional panels.

The research is carried out by six universities and the AMOLF institute.

NWO-Institute AMOLF is a national research laboratory funded by the Dutch Science Foundation NWO. The Light Management in New Photovoltaic Materials (LMPV) program at AMOLF is a PV research center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The LMPV program is carried out by five group leaders: Prof. Dr. Erik Garnett, Prof. Dr. Bruno Ehrler, Prof. Dr. Esther Alarcón Lladó, Dr. Wiebke Albrecht, and Prof. Dr. Albert Polman (program director). For more information see LMPV.nl

Cutting-edge research at TU Delft on photovoltaics and solar energy conversion spans from material synthesis, electronic structure theory (DFT, GW/BSE), time-resolved laser spectroscopy charge carriers and excitons (optical and microwave/THz detection) to high-efficiency tandem solar cells, PV-based intelligent energy agents and PV integration in both urban and open environment. In the Optoelectronic Materials group in the Chemical Engineering Department new nanocrystals and 2D materials are developed and characterised with an eye on highly efficient solar cells that exploit e.g. singlet fission or carrier multiplication. Research on devices at a higher TRL level takes place at the Photovoltaic Materials and Devices (PVMD) group of Electrical Engineering Mathematics and Computer Science faculty, whose mission is to deploy X-IPV systems providing green electricity for the sustainable electrification of society. The PVMD group leads the TU Delft PV Technology Center which is an experimental hub for interfaculty PV-related research topics. In addition, research in the Radiation Science and Technology Department focuses on materials for luminescent solar concentrator devices and solar conversion for greenhouses. For more information, see https://www.tudelft.nl/ewi/pvmd opto electronic materials www.vanderkolklab.com

The Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials at the university of Groningen focus on the investigation of functional materials for a large spectrum of applications. An important research topic of the Institute focus on Energy and covers investigation of new materials and phenomena for solar cells. The Zernike Energy program is carried out by: Prof. Dr. Maria A. Loi, Prof. Dr. Jan Anton Koster, Prof. Giuseppe Portaale, Dr. Loredana Portesescu, Dr. Graeme Blake, Dr, Remco Havenith and Prof. Pchenitchnikov. Professor M.A. Loi is the cooridinator of the Zernike Energy Program.

MM is the research Institute for Molecules and Materials at the Radboud University Nijmegen. The PV research of the institute focuses on the development of high-efficiency thin-film solar cells. The PV program is carried out by two group leaders. Prof. dr. Elias Vlieg. and dr. John Schermer. For more information, see https://www.ru.nl/appliedmaterialsscience/

The Institute of Physics (Institute of Physics - IoP - University of Amsterdam (uva.nl)) at the University of Amsterdam hosts research on PV materials such as perovskites, devices, and light management in PV materials. The research program is carried out by Prof. Dr. Peter Schall (Research Group Peter Schall - Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam), and Dr. Jorik van de Groep (Van de Groep Lab - 2D Nanophotonics @ UvA).

AmsterdamDelftUtrechtNijmegenEindhovenGroningenEnschede