Call | ANR MOPGA (Make Our Planet Great Again)
PI | Philip Schulz (IPVF, CNRS)
Starting date & duration | 2018, 60 months
Abstract | Achieving the goals of a sustainable energy mix poses important questions throughout all layers of society from education and economy to the research community. In this framework, we identify research on photovoltaic power generation as crucial for maintaining such a reliable and sustainable energy supply. For photovoltaics to reach terawatt levels as is required for the massive decarbonization of the energy economy, research roadmaps have been drafted, comprising highly efficient, low-cost modules to be realized on an aggressive time scale. This goal can be reached by the implementation of novel materials that go beyond the physical limits of our current silicon-based technology. The InHyMat-PV project, conducted through the Centre National de la Recherche (CNRS) at the Institut Photovoltaïque d’Île de France (IPVF), seeks to explore the fundamental properties of energy materials that can be manufactured inexpensively at high volume, and that are highly efficient and stable. Absorber materials based on the emerging class of hybrid organic metal halide perovskites (HaPs) are on a route to fulfill these needs. Yet, main performance loss mechanisms are linked to improperly designed interfaces in the device. Our research activities are centered on unravelling the effect of interface design on device functionality by a dedicated and integrated film processing and characterization approach. The Young Investigator Group titled “Interfaces and Hybrid Materials for Photovoltaics” aims at transitioning fundamental research to viable, applied high-impact technology with focus on HaPs for their disruptive success in the research field of solar cell applications.
