The Future of Photovoltaics: Organic, Perovskites, CIGS, Hybrid

3M Barrier Films are designed to provide a barrier to water and oxygen transmission while maintaining the optical transmittance characteristics of the base films. These films are used in both display and flexible electronic applications where water and oxygen sensitivities are present. In the area of flexible photovoltaics most of the emerging technologies like CIGS, OPV and perovskites require ultra barrier films to protect them from degradation in the field.
3M has the unique capability to make roll to roll barrier films in wide format allowing for large scale barrier film volume. We will provide an introduction to ultra moisture barrier film construction and performance as well as highlight the features and characteristics of the barrier film products that are currently commercialized.

3M Barrier Films are designed to provide a barrier to water and oxygen transmission while maintaining the optical transmittance characteristics of the base films. These films are used in both display and flexible electronic applications where water and oxygen sensitivities are present. In the area of flexible photovoltaics most of the emerging technologies like CIGS, OPV and perovskites require ultra barrier films to protect them from degradation in the field.
3M has the unique capability to make roll to roll barrier films in wide format allowing for large scale barrier film volume. We will provide an introduction to ultra moisture barrier film construction and performance as well as highlight the features and characteristics of the barrier film products that are currently commercialized.

Unlike conventional crystalline solar cells, the organic solar films are not only flexible and transparent, but can also be bent and shaped as desired. The ASCA® solar film can be produced in blue, green, grey and red. There are also no limits in terms of length, size and design. We can produce any kind of solar cell, which thus becomes part of the architecture, thanks to our unique industrial free-form, integration and project approach.

With its customer orientation, ASCA offers solutions for all market segments with ASCA® Mobility, ASCA® Sensor and ASCA® Structures.
Our projects are oriented through three main types of integration:
1. media facades
2. glass facades
3. building envelope elements like guardrails

The solar power is produced by carbon-based organic solar cells, which ASCA applies in very thin layers to thin films using an internally designed printing process.
These unicities will be illustrated through project realized by the ASCA team.

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The interest in perovskite photovoltaics (PVs) has drastically increased in the last few years, both in the scientific community and solar industry, since these devices can offer a high light-to-electricity conversion efficiency at a low manufacturing cost, providing also many unique characteristics. According to the latest research reports, the market of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is estimated to grow at a 34% compound annual growth rate (CARG) for 2020-2027. Although, to ensure the economic feasibility and competitive levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), critical challenges regarding their long-term stability, scaling up and manufacturing costs should be further considered and overcome.
For enabling the successful fabrication of very low-cost, stable and scalable PSCs, ambient air processed carbon-based hole transport material-free (C-based HTM-free) PV devices employing perovskites as light absorbers are considered the front runner to the market. This type of solar cell seems to be the most promising for achieving very low manufacturing costs due to the inexpensive carbon materials, very simple structure and full compatibility with printing fabrication techniques. Simultaneously, under this architecture, many instability issues that characterize the conventional noble metal-based PSCs are addressed. When the fabrication of these devices is combined with fully ambient air-processing, where sophisticated air/humidity-controlling systems are avoided, their mass production and commercialization are considered one significant step closer.
Up until now, the vast majority of PSCs have relied on the spin-coating of solar cell materials under inert fully controlled conditions, with the performance of devices that are developed by alternative techniques and under ambient atmosphere to lag far behind. This impedes the technology transfer from the laboratory to industrial large-scale production. Thus, the investigation of new scalable techniques should be thoroughly considered. Some of the alternatives that have been already applied are blade-coating, slot-die coating, spray-coating and inkjet-printing. Amongst them, inkjet-printing stands out as a digital deposition approach for solution-based materials that is characterized for its scalability, fast material deposition with high accuracy and low waste, which also allows for the formation of fine patterns of printed inks at a high resolution. To date, even though the studies on inkjet-printed PSCs are only few, substantial achievements have been made, with the record efficiencies for small-sized C-based PV devices to be on the order of 12%.
One of the aims of Brite Solar is to increase the technology readiness level (TRL) of PSCs for many pioneer and niche applications. More specifically, the company aims to deliver fully printed large-sized (>400 cm2) perovskite solar modules (PSMs) (Fig.1) utilizing drop-on-demand inkjet-printing, as well as novel nanostructures and perovskite materials, that will increase the competitiveness of this technology for its entering the PV market, all developed by Brite Solar Engineers and Scientists. Very recently, a breakthrough in the upscaling of fully-printed ambient air processed C-based HTM-free PSMs has been achieved: efficiencies on the order of 10% (in the active area of PV) under 1 sun illumination on an unprecedented 200 cm2 active area, is the main topic of our presentation, also demonstrating noteworthy stability under different accelerated ageing conditions (according to the ISOS protocols).

Coatema delivered a pilot line in 2012 to the University of Thessaloniki in Greece. (Auth). Since then, there has been a continuous scale up of the system with the integration of different quality control systems like inline spectroscopy and others. In a new European project called Real Nano additional quality control systems are being installed.
The talk describes the used systems, the influence of the different parameters like coating, drying, tension control and others.

Our latest approach to 4T perovskite/Direct Wafer silicon tandem PV modules will be presented. As energy demand continues to increase globally, solar photovoltaic (PV) technology needs to respond with ever-increasing module efficiency – and better energy yield. Archetypical single-junction silicon technology has an upper module efficiency limit of ~24%, though by applying a metal halide perovskite top cell and a bifacial module design, module efficiency can increase to over 30% and leverage up to 30% albedo light (i.e., reflected light available to the backside of the module). Concurrently, as noted by Swanson’s Law, this increase in PV deployment is expected to also come at an ever declining price, typically registered in $/W(name plate). As such, CubicPV looks to pair its very low-cost printed perovskite technology as our top cells with our kerfless silicon Direct Wafer technology as the basis for our bottom cells. Most importantly, by combining printed perovskite materials with kerfless silicon, CubicPV aims to produce an area-efficient PV module with very low embedded energy and carbon, as compared to standard silicon PV derived from the Czochralski single crystal process.

Over the last decade, organic solar cells (OSCs) have become a promising technology for next generation solar cells combining novel properties such as light weight, flexibility, or color design with large-scale manufacturing with low environmental impact. However, the main challenge for OSC will be the transfer from lab-scale processes to large-area industrial solar cell fabrication. High efficiencies in the field of OSCs are mainly achieved for devices fabricated under inert atmosphere using small active areas, typically below 0.2 cm2. So far, a small lab scale devices have now reached performances above 18%.
Apart from traditional large scale outdoor application, organic photovoltaic cells and modules are also of interest for powering small, off-grid electronic devices indoors. In this context, the main challenge for organic photovoltaic technology will be the transfer from lab-scale processes to large-area industrial modules fabrication under inert atmosphere using green solvent. In this light, inkjet printed highly efficient organic photovoltaic modules under indoor illumination were demonstrated by Dracula Technologies even for low lighting condition (<50 lux) by using new specific indoor materials and device structure. To prove the great advantage of inkjet printing as a digital technology allowing freedom of forms and designs, particular organic modules with different artistic shapes were demonstrated keeping high performance under indoor conditions. Reported results confirm that inkjet printing has high potential for the processing of OPV, allowing quick changes in design as well as the materials.
Reported results confirm that inkjet printing has high potential for the processing of OPV, allowing quick changes in design as well as the materials.

In this talk, Steven Davies from DuPont Teijin Films will provide an overview of their Mylar® UVHPET™ product range and how these products are being used in thin film solar applications. Applications for DuPont Teijin Films’ polyester films include front sheet, backsheet and electrode layers, and the talk will specifically focus on the impact of these products from a sustainability perspective. Covering topics such as the use of recycled content, feasibility studies into future closed loop recycling processes and the durability and reliability of the products, the key theme will be that halogen free films can be used in these emerging technologies without a negative impact on product performance – Sustainability without compromise.