Michael Walls (Loughborough University) SESSIG 27th October 2014

Objectives Establishment of a UK network for PV R&D to include Universities, Industry and Finance.. Training for new University and Industrial PV researchers. Provision of a UK national cell efficiency measurement facility Organisation of events of interest to all sectors of the PV community Business and Industry Showcase

Key partner: The KTN What it does?  Manages the SuperSolar Web-site and assists publicity of news, events and funding opportunities.  Support the marketing and delivery of engagement events over the lifetime of the Hub  Key people: Chris Bagley (Director, KTN) Viola Augstein (Operations Manager) 

EPSRC Supergen SuperSolar: SuperSolar Network Memberships  8 Hub Institutions  44 Individual Associate members from 25 Institutions/Companies  434 Network members

EPSRC Supergen SuperSolar: 2014 SuperSolar Events  8 th, 9th January 2014, ‘SuperSolar Technical Meeting III’, University of Liverpool  15 January 2014 ‘Next Generation Materials for Solar Photovoltaics’, Royal Society of Chemistry, London  5th February 2014, ‘Advances in Concentrator Photovoltaics (CPV)’,Imperial College London  23 – 25 April 2014, ‘PVSAT 10’, Loughborough University  12 May 2014, ‘SuperSolar Research Skills for Solar PV Devices’, University of Aston  1 st,2nd July 2014, ‘SuperSolar Technical Meeting IV’, University of Sheffield  16th September 2014, ‘Advances in Photovoltaics’, Institute of Physics, London  23rd October 2014, ‘The Big Idea’, Offices of S.G.H. Martineau LLP, City of London

 Current testing methods for PV devices in the UK are not standardised and do not allow for technology inter- comparisons.  SuperSolar has installed a WACOM solar simulator which is now being used to make measurements for the UK PV community. We are working on achieving accreditation to international standards.  Contact Dr Kevin Bass New facility: Acccredited Cell Efficiency Measurements

Growth in Module production is 35% compound since 2000 Sources: PV News, May 2012 and earlier reports

Chinese Tier 1 ASPs Solar Module SP Learning Curve $0.50 Cumulative PV shipments ( MWp )

Source: First Solar Annual Report 2013 Cost Reduction Achievements: The achievement of cost reductions is another area in which First Solar continues to demonstrate the ability to set aggressive targets and achieve them. Our stated goal in 2013 was to deliver a module manufacturing cost-per-watt between $0.63 to $0.66. We delivered at the low end of that range with an average cost-per-watt of $0.63 for the year. Excluding capacity underutilization and upgrades, our full-year module manufacturing cost-per-watt declined approximately 11 percent versus 2012 to $0.59. The cost-per-watt for our best plant reached $0.53 at the end of Additionally, on a year-over-year basis we reduced our balance of system (BoS) cost by 11 percent from the end of The average efficiency of our modules for the year was 13.2 percent, which exceeded the full year target of 13.1 percent. As we exited the year the efficiency on our lead-line was running at 14 percent and competitively positions First Solar in the marketplace and potentially opens new business segments in the future, expanding our total addressable market. First Solar Inc

Solar PV in the UK: Over 5GW cumulative of Solar PV will be installed in the UK by end 2014 The DECC target is to install 20GW by 2020 UK is #6 largest market for PV Industrial activity in the UK often underestimated (NSG- Pilkington) Strong research base especially in third generation devices Currently a world leading position in Perovskite device technology Number of innovative small companies in the sector with great potential Solar in the UK

Market opportunities for PV Module manufacture is highly competitive and products are commodities. Opportunities in new manufacturing technologies such as solution and inkjet processing Products that address the aesthetic barriers to deployment such as PV roof tiles and power producing semi-transparent windows. Building Integrated PV Improved batteries for PV energy storage with invertors.

New Solar PV Developments in the UK Solid State Perovskite based solar cells developed at University of Oxford with Oxford Photovoltaics Ltd One Step Interconnect (OSI) process for thin film modules developed by M-solv Ltd and Loughborough University

Photo courtesy of Grimshaw

Large area TF PV panels need to be divided into cells and connected in series Thin film (TF) PV panels  Three main TF PV materials  Thin-film silicon (TF-Si)  Cadmium telluride (CdTe)  CIGS (CIS)

One Step Interconnect (OSI)

Laser/beamsplitter Lenses

Scanning White Light Interferometry of One Step Interconnect P3 B A 1234 Height [ µm] Width [µm]

SEM top view of OSI Dead area

Production machine Metal frame Air table supports panel Stages on granite structure panel Top process head Fast continuous panel movement Heads step

OSI simplifies the factory and reduces the floor area CdTe conventional CdTe OSI

The next era of solar: Reaching retail “grid parity” in many regions globally Fundamental economics driving solar demand “Cost down curve” still has downward momentum Industry poised for massive growth Warren Buffett invested $5 billion in solar power plants Exciting developments taking place in the UK The next era for solar

Thank you

Solar PV in the UK: Over 1GW of Solar PV will be installed in the UK in 2013 The DECC target is to install 20GW by 2020 UK is #6 largest market for PV Industrial activity in the UK often underestimated (NSG- Pilkington) Strong research base especially in third generation devices Currently a world leading position in Perovskite device technology Number of innovative small companies in the sector with great potential Solar in the UK

EPSRC Supergen SuperSolar: International Secondments 2013/2014  Hub members: 4 International secondments from 2 Institutions.  Associate members : 9 International secondments from 7 Institutions. Extension of scheme for 2014/2015 to be announced shortly.

EPSRC Supergen SuperSolar: Flexible Funding Call on Perovskite Solar Cells The Perovskite Call attracted 19 proposals of which 3 were funded from a £450,000 Fund. University of Swansea Addressing the scale up challenge for flexible perovskite solar cells Professor Dave Worsley University College, London Discovery of new Hybrid Solar Cell Materials Dr Robert Palgrave University of Edinburgh New Hole-Transport Materials to Enhance Perovskite Solar Cells Dr Neil Robertson

Photovoltaic platforms One sun Flat plateConcentrators (CPV)

Thin Film CdTe Solar Cell Structure

Where are they now?: - Solyndra- SunTech - Q Cells- Wuxi - Energy Conversion Devices - Unisolar - Abound Solar- Evergreen Solar - PhotoWatt- BP Solar - Odersun- Miasole Technology is not enough…