Solar energy experts at the Fraunhofer Institute are optimizing sun-catcher cells to supercharge solar panels.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/24690127

Solar energy experts in Germany are putting sun-catching cells under the magnifying glass with astounding results, according to multiple reports.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems team is perfecting the use of lenses to concentrate sunlight onto solar panels, reducing size and costs while increasing performance, Interesting Engineering and PV Magazine reported.

The “technology has the potential to contribute to the energy transition, facilitating the shift toward more sustainable and renewable energy sources by combining minimal carbon footprint and energy demand with low levelized cost of electricity,” the researchers wrote in a study published by the IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics.

The sun-catcher is called a micro-concentrating photovoltaic, or CPV, cell. The lens makes it different from standard solar panels that convert sunlight to energy with average efficiency rates around 20%, per MarketWatch. Fraunhofer’s improved CPV cell has an astounding 36% rate in ideal conditions and is made with lower-cost parts. It cuts semiconductor materials “by a factor of 1,300 and reduces module areas by 30% compared to current state-of-the-art CPV systems,” per IE.

  • anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    381·
    14 hours ago

    What are concentrating photovoltaics? One of the ways to increase the output from the photovoltaic systems is to supply concentrated light onto the PV cells. This can be done by using optical light collectors, such as lenses or mirrors. The PV systems that use concentrated light are called concentrating photovoltaics (CPV). The CPV collect light from a larger area and concentrate it to a smaller area solar cell. This is illustrated in Figure 5.1.

    Also, from the article - 33.6% efficiency in real-world conditions:

    A 60 cell-lens prototype was studied for a year. In “real-world” conditions, CPVs achieved up to 33.6% efficiency. The 36% mark was posted at 167 degrees Fahrenheit. The prototype showed no signs of degradation, according to IE.

    • BombOmOm@lemmy.worldEnglish
      312·
      14 hours ago

      A lighthouse uses the same lens, just with the light coming from the inside. Since this is old knowledge, what is the drawback? Why isn’t this widespread?

      My completely uninformed guess:

      • The lens and assembly costs too much compared to just more solar panels

      • The lens/panel combo is so bulky/prone to failure it becomes unreasonable to actually install/use.

      • brendansimms@lemmy.worldEnglish
        22·
        13 hours ago

        Adding to what Eldest_Malk said: They aren’t just putting a new type of lens over standard solar cells, they are also designing/fabricating custom cells to work with the lenses. [I’m not a PV expert, but the fact that the IEEE paper focuses so much on the cells and not just the lenses leads me to believe that the lenses can’t just be used with whatever standardized solar cells are on the market]

      • rem26_art@fedia.io
        14·
        13 hours ago

        id guess a lot went into designing a solar cell that could take being heated to 167F without losing efficiency or breaking. I think most common house solar panels have a temperature coefficient listed on their datasheet that measures how much its ability to generate power decreases per every degree above 77F

      • anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        14·
        13 hours ago

        They mention standardisations and cost savings in their paper, as well as solving the heat load per cell problem by decreasing cell size. They also mention that there’s been a lot of micro-CPV module designs but that they haven’t been scaled up. Some quotes below:

        Various researchers and developers have been exploring different micro-CPV module designs [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13]. Most approaches have been tested on small prototypes or minimodules, while fewer have been realized with aperture areas (Aap) above 200 and 800 cm2,[…]

        By decreasing the sizes of the primary optics and the solar cells, the heat load per cell is minimized. This reduction allows for sufficient heat spreading via the circuit board, enabling the direct assembly of solar cells onto the circuit board on glass.

        At Fraunhofer ISE, we have developed a micro-CPV module concept [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], which is based on parallelized manufacturing processes and commercially available components.

        The final module features a panel size of 24” × 18”, which is a standard in the microelectronics industry, facilitating machine adaption without necessitating special adjustments.

      • Eldest_Malk@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8·
        13 hours ago

        The article states that it’s smaller and cheaper. The reason it’s not widespread is that they just invented it.

        • NOT_RICK@lemmy.worldEnglish
          8·
          13 hours ago

          It is interesting that someone just recently thought to use a fresnel lens with photovoltaics when they’ve existed for hundreds of years

          • dogslayeggs@lemmy.worldEnglish
            14·
            13 hours ago

            It isn’t that. They have been talking about Fresnel lenses on PV for decades. It’s solving the heat issue and the size issue. A Fresnel lens gathers a large area of light and focuses it down, including focusing the heat. Normal PV cells cannot handle that amount of heat.

          • DrunkenPirate@feddit.orgEnglish
            2·
            13 hours ago

            This is exactely how most inventions are made: put together two things from different realms that might have a good fit.

            Just wait a few years and they will find a way to use the light directly instead transferring it into electricity. There‘re some IC‘s that already use light instead of voltage to compute.