Grants and Contributions:

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Title:

Novel high efficiency solar cell structures for 1500X sun concentration

Agreement Number:

EGP

Agreement Value:

$25,000.00

Agreement Date:

Mar 7, 2018 -

Organization:

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Location:

Quebec, CA

Reference Number:

GC-2017-Q4-00223

Agreement Type:

Grant

Report Type:

Grants and Contributions

Additional Information:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019).

Recipient's Legal Name:

Boucherif, Abderraouf (Université de Sherbrooke)

Program:

Engage Grants for universities

Program Purpose:

Concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) technology is among the most promising solar technologies. In this market,x000D
the Canadian company STACE has the most reliable CPV modules technology in the industry. In order tox000D
evolve in a fast moving market, STACE would like to push the concentration limit of its module to a higherx000D
solar concentration. For this purpose a new generation of solar cell architecture needs to be demonstrated.x000D
STACE would like to work with the universite de Sherbrooke (UdeS) on a new concept of multijunction solarx000D
cells which would allow reaching much higher solar concentrations above 1000 suns, this concept is based onx000D
duplicating each sub-cell into a plurality of sub-junctions in order to reduce the current while increasing thex000D
voltage. As a result the resistive losses are significantly reduced allowing boosting the efficiency at highx000D
concentration. The team at the université de Sherbrooke, with the Prof. Boucherif and a PhD student will bringx000D
a unique expertise in solar cell design and modeling while taking care of designing the cell for manufacturingx000D
and system integration by calibrating the model based on measurements done on real cells and lenses providedx000D
by STACE. This collaboration target to deliver a design of an efficient solar cell structure at 1500 sunsx000D
concentration in addition to a cost of energy estimate adapted to STACE modules.Concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) technology is among the most promising solar technologies. In this market,x000D
the Canadian company STACE has the most reliable CPV modules technology in the industry. In order tox000D
evolve in a fast moving market, STACE would like to push the concentration limit of its module to a higherx000D
solar concentration. For this purpose a new generation of solar cell architecture needs to be demonstrated.x000D
STACE would like to work with the universite de Sherbrooke (UdeS) on a new concept of multijunction solarx000D
cells which would allow reaching much higher solar concentrations above 1000 suns, this concept is based onx000D
duplicating each sub-cell into a plurality of sub-junctions in order to reduce the current while increasing thex000D
voltage. As a result the resistive losses are significantly reduced allowing boosting the efficiency at highx000D
concentration. The team at the université de Sherbrooke, with the Prof. Boucherif and a PhD student will bringx000D
a unique expertise in solar cell design and modeling while taking care of designing the cell for manufacturingx000D
and system integration by calibrating the model based on measurements done on real cells and lenses providedx000D
by STACE. This collaboration target to deliver a design of an efficient solar cell structure at 1500 sunsx000D
concentration in addition to a cost of energy estimate adapted to STACE modules.