Awards & Competitions
Challenge Awards 2021 On Solar Energy

Challenge Awards 2021 On Solar Energy

About Challenge Awards 2021 On Solar Energy

Objective of the Challenge Awards

Slowing the effect of global warming, one of the most pressing challenges of this century, demands a shift to sustainable technologies for electricity generation. Silicon (Si) based Photovoltaic (PV) technologies have been rapidly growing and dominating the renewable energy market. Amongst the other potential under development thin films PV technologies: Organic Solar Cells , Perovskites, Kesterites etc. are promising leads to deliver electricity at a lower cost with the lowest carbon footprint of all.

Solar cell research and development is a multi-disciplinary research and demands joint working of physicists, chemists, materials scientists, computationa scientists, and engineers to demonstrate high efficiency and cost effective modules. In India, educational and research institutions need to step up multiinstitutional research work to produce global competitive devices while addressing the challenges from materials-to-processing techniques to devices. The wafer size for silicon based solar cell are trending towards large area (210 mm x 210 mm) driven by the lowering of levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), according to estimation by industry. The wafer thickness will also continue to decrease, as this is one the main costs of cell production. There are no issues with cell fabrication at smaller thickness, but breakage at the module fabrication stage of thin wafers will be in focus. The change in device architectures also show preferences to high quality n-type wafers, knowhow in nanolithography, masking or ion implantation which are costly affairs needing sensitive tools.

The other non- silicon technologies have a few unique strengths are being utilized for diverse real-world applications without competing with the Silicon solar cells. These emerging solar cells offer a versatile clean energy solution for applications that need mechanical flexibility, thinness, semi-transparency, and highperformance-to-weight ratio, and a combination of these features suitable for niche applications like building-integrated photovoltaics, wearable, and portable electronics, internet-of-things (IoT) devices, textiles, bio sensors etc.

The lab-to-manufacturing translation, the performance degradation caused in scaling up from the record lab-scale devices to industrial-scale modules is also a critical challenge in solar industry. In Non-silicon module/panels, multiple lab-scale devices are assembled using electrical connections that decrease the efficiency. The patterning of electrodes and the active materials to manufacture the sub-cells and interconnects with minimum loss are other prominent challenges apart from the materials and their processing. An integrated strategy combining materials development, materials processing, and interface engineering, and an optimized lab-to-module scaling is thus essential to tackle the efficiency and stability challenges for the commercialization of these technologies. Few to these developments appear promising for indoor energy sources with features of lightweight, flexible and semi-transparent. Success in these area would prepare our country with PV technologies with the lowest carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) footprint of all.

The Indian research community needs a wholesome approach from developing materials to processes and to device applications with the highest scientific and technological impact. In the current context, for improving the research outcomes through the success of research and development projects the following outcomes could be the part of overall consortium: