TECHNOLOGY I RESEARCH
UK developed hybrid PV product set for market final certification which will take place in
A SOLAR TECHNOLOGY COMPANY which attracted significant funding earlier this year to develop a hybrid Solar PV-T panel, is embarking upon its final journey that will help strengthen the UK’s position on the renewable technology map.
Natural Technology Developments (NTD) based in Northumberland, secured a total of £180,000 from Northstar Ventures’ Finance For Business North East Proof of Concept Fund and a private investor to design develop and manufacture its new product ‘Solar Angel’ in the UK.
The new slim line dual generation panel combines solar PV and solar thermal technologies to allow consumers to generate both electricity and hot water from the sun’s rays, and its unique cooling system helps generate more electricity than PV on its own.
The panel is currently being field tested at NTD’s own eco office as well as undergoing laboratory tests prior to its
the UK and California later this year.
NTD’s managing director Paul Laidler said, “What makes Solar Angel unique is not only that it is manufactured in the UK, but also that we have overcome many problems facing competitors who are trying to produce similar hybrid technologies by creating a lighter-weight, more compact design that is higher performing and easier to install.
“By installing the panels in our own eco office we can gather real-time data of how it is performing and we have been working closely with IPSoL Energy, the UK’s only accredited test house, which is helping us to test the product with a view to obtaining our full certification.”
Hybrid preparation Once the product passes the various testing processes, Solar Angel will be fully MCS and Solar Keymark certified by January 2014.
He continued, “Demand for such a UK product is huge and once certified, we will be working with carefully selected and trained installation partners within the North East and the rest of the UK.”
Commercial director at IPSol, Tim Carter, said, “As an authority for PV-T testing and certification we will be supportive of the development of products. We are pleased to be doing the first PV-T testing for a British product. It is a big challenge to be able to successfully pass the international IEC certification, and the added value we bring is to allow manufacturers to rapidly prototype and test their product prior to full certification testing. This extra preparation facilitates qualification and accelerates market entry.”
NTD is about to embark on second stage investment fund raising in order to grow the business and market the product to the rest of the world with its official launch at the EcoBuild exhibition in London next March.
New CPV development closes in on 50% efficiency mark
THE FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Soitec, CEA-Leti and the Helmholtz Center Berlin jointly announced having achieved a world record for the conversion of sunlight into electricity using a new solar cell structure with four solar subcells. Entering the roadmap at world class level, a new record efficiency of 44.7% was measured at a concentration of 297 suns. Back in May 2013, the German-French team had announced a cell with 43.6% efficiency.
These solar cells are used in concentrator photovoltaics (CPV). The terrestrial use of III-V multi-junction solar cells has prevailed to realize highest efficiencies for the conversion of sunlight to electricity. In this multi-junction solar cell, several cells made out of different III-V semiconductor materials are stacked on each other.
“We are incredibly proud of our team which has been working now for three years on this four-junction solar cell,” says Frank Dimroth, Department Head
and Project Leader in charge of this development work at Fraunhofer ISE.
“This four-junction solar cell contains our collected expertise in this area over many years. A new procedure called wafer bonding plays a central role. With this technology, we are able to connect two semiconductor crystals.”
“This world record increasing our efficiency level by more than 1 point in less than 4 months demonstrates the extreme potential of our four-junction solar cell design which relies on Soitec bonding techniques and expertise,” says André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé, Soitec’s Chairman and CEO. “It confirms the acceleration of the roadmap towards higher efficiencies which represents a key contributor to competitiveness of our own CPV systems.”
“This new record value reinforces the credibility of the direct semiconductor bonding approaches that is developed in
the frame of our collaboration with Soitec and Fraunhofer ISE. We are very proud of this new result, confirming the broad path that exists in solar technologies for advanced III-V semiconductor processing,” said Leti CEO Laurent Malier.
Concentrator modules are produced by Soitec. This particularly efficient technology is employed in solar power plants located in sun-rich regions with a high percentage of direct radiation.
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