The Department of Energy will drive five new research projects aimed at driving innovations that would lower the cost of PV and concentrating solar power (CSP) technology.
The projects come off recent announcements of SunShot Initiative investments in CSP. SunShot's goal is to make solar energy cost competitive by the end of the decade.
Research teams from industry, universities, and national laboratories will collaborate at the DOE's Scientific User Facilities, where they will have open access to cutting edge resources such as x-ray sources, accelerators, supercomputers and nanoscale research centers.
Two projects have been awarded $900,000, including a partnership with PLANT PV and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Molecular Foundry to develop 3D mapping tools for higher performing thin film solar material. The University of Colorado will use tools at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to research high-temperature inexpensive materials for concentrating solar power technologies.
Investments totaling $2.6 million will go toward establishing full research programs resulting in new tool development and expanding the capability of each Scientific User Facility to conduct advanced solar energy research. Sandia National Laboratories will partner with the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies to improve the efficiency of thin film photovoltaic materials; Arizona State University will use x-ray technologies at Argonne National Laboratory to address solar cell material performance; and Stanford University will partner with SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to research inexpensive ways to print solar cells.
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