PHOTOVOLTAICS | MATERIALS
Recent innovations in organic solar cells include using tin oxide to boost performance, a new more ‘stretchable’ material and a pan-European project to raise device stability and durability
IMAGE: LUNGHAMMER/TU GRAZ
Organic growth: plastic solar cell developments
Organic solar cells hold the potential to deliver cheap, clean energy – but are hampered by the problem of relatively low efficiency and a lack of durability. However, many researchers are working to improve both electrical performance and device lifetimes.
Although they offer the advantages of lightness
and flexibility, organic solar cells tend to have a short lifespan – which can undermine their com- mercial potential. Now, an international research team – led by Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in Austria – is looking to increase the stability of organic solar cells. The OPVStability network brings together a
range of partners who will spend the next four years increasing the durability of organic solar cells. The European Commission is funding the project with around €2.7 million. “Thousands of material combinations can be
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used to produce organic solar cells,” said Gregor Trimmel, project director for OPVStability and associate professor at the Institute for Chemistry and Technology of Materials at TU Graz. “We want to find which are particularly durable and yet efficient in terms of electricity output.” Ten research institutes in seven countries will
each create a PhD position to drive the work forward, in cooperation with industry partners. “In principle, organic photovoltaic cells could
produce electricity at a similar cost as silicon-based products,” he said. The researchers will study the decomposition
processes of potentially suitable materials. Here, the organic compounds will be exposed to artificial sunlight in the laboratory and tested under real weather conditions. Precise analysis of gradual degradation is a challenge, he says. “Organic solar cells are no more than 200
April 2024 | FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION 33
Main image: The OPVStabil- ity network will spend four years increas- ing the durability of organic solar cells
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