Jul 11 2012
Innovative Materials Processing Technologies (IMPT) together with 13 partners have secured a major European research project worth 10 million euro.
The Scalenano project will focus on the development and scale-up of nanostructured based materials and processes for low cost high efficiency chalcogenide based photovoltaics (PV). The project runs from 1 February 2012 to 31 July 2015 with the aim of achieving a breakthrough in developing low cost and highly efficient photovoltaic devices and modules based on thin film technologies.
In the Scalenano project, IMPT is set to play a pivotal role in the development of scale-up process and specialised equipment based on IMPT’s revolutionary patent protected Electrostatic Spray Assisted Vapour Deposition (ESAVD) technology. ESAVD is a low cost, eco-friendly, and vacuum free processes with very high potential throughput for the production of reliable, high performance solar cell components.
These will be tested in close collaboration with leading European PV research institutes and industries. The outputs will be exploited for the pilot production line. This will help to realise the aim of Scalenano to reduce the manufacturing costs of solar panels, which is in line with the 20/20/20 target established by the European Commission and the European Strategic Energy Technology. Furthermore, the research outputs also have wider impact and applications in display and smart windows etc.