Energy News  
SOLAR DAILY
Konarka Research Project To Increase Lifespan Of Organic Solar Cells

Organic solar cells are flexible, semi-transparent and extremely inexpensive to produce, yielding huge potential for the future, but existing barrier materials result in a limited lifespan. Significantly higher life expectancy can only be realized by combining high-quality encapsulation with high intrinsic stability of photoactive materials, which is the focus of the BMBF Stability Project.
by Staff Writers
 Nuremberg, Germany (SPX) Dec 04, 2008
 Konarka Technologies has announced Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is supporting a future oriented development project through a consortium that is headed by Konarka, and is providing funding of nearly EUR 2.5 million over the next three years.

The project, called "OPV stability" targets to significantly increase the lifespan of organic solar cells (OSC) with the goal of yielding competitive organic photovoltaics (OPV) for potential commercial use.

Established to develop stable organic solar modules, the consortium consists of renowned academic partners including University Tubingen, University Wuppertal, Julius-Maximilians-University Wurzburg, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and the Max-Planck-Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz.

"The partners of this BMBF initiative are participating to break through technological and economic barriers in innovation in the field of organic photovoltaics," commented Christoph Brabec, CTO at Konarka.

"We are expected to make significant contributions to extending the lifespan of organic solar cells, ultimately delivering future organic photovoltaic technology with increased commercial attractiveness."

Organic solar cells are flexible, semi-transparent and extremely inexpensive to produce, yielding huge potential for the future, but existing barrier materials result in a limited lifespan. Significantly higher life expectancy can only be realized by combining high-quality encapsulation with high intrinsic stability of photoactive materials, which is the focus of the BMBF Stability Project.

There have been many improvements in OSC technology in the recent past, but due mostly to improved packaging of cells rather than an extension of the lifespan.

The BMBF recently announced that it is also supporting a future-oriented development project by a consortium of renowned companies, including Konarka, which aims to develop innovative polymeric solar cells for energy-autonomous systems.

The BMBF Efficiency Project is expected to yield solar cells that are optimized for specific applications with efficiencies of more than 10% and are highly competitive with other PV technologies.

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
 Konarka Technologies
 All About Solar Energy at SolarDaily.com


Memory Foam Mattress Review
SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
 Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


SOLAR DAILY
SunPower And City Solar Sign 100MW Agreement
 San Jose CA (SPX) Dec 03, 2008
 SunPower has announced it has signed a customer contract with German solar power plant integrator City Solar Kraftwerke AG.






ENERGY TECH
  • KEMA Advances Understanding Of Energy Storage Technologies
  • Self-powered devices may soon be possible
  • Wind Turbines Generate More Green Jobs In Ontario
  • New CNG Fueling Station To Support Growing Municipal Fleets

    • CIVIL NUCLEAR
  • EDF reveals 4.5-bln-dlr counter-bid for half of Constellation nuclear
  • Westinghouse To Pursue Nuclear Power Market In India
  • Poland aims for nuclear power plant by 2020: PM
  • Iran proposes joint nuclear plants with Gulf states

    • BLUE SKY
  • Asia not responsible for 'brown haze': India
  • NRL's SHIMMER Observes Earth's Highest Clouds
  • Brown clouds of pollution a huge threat to Asia: UN
  • Global Methane Levels On The Rise Again

    • WOOD PILE
  • Brazil plans to cut deforestation by 70 pct over 10 years
  • Amazon deforestation up almost 4.0 percent
  • China sews forests from tree-starved areas
  • Frontier Forest Science For Carbon Solutions

    • FARM NEWS
  • Trust in Chinese food exports drops over milk scandal: state media
  • Global warming could harm Pacific food security: UN
  • IAEA calls for renewed interest in mutant plant breeding
  • China says 294,000 children fell ill from tainted milk

    • CAR TECH
  • German automakers denounce EU compromise on CO2 emissions
  • EU nations agree on car emission cuts
  • Sanyo to launch new electric hybrid bicycle
  • London road pricing zone to be reduced

    • AEROSPACE
  • NASA studies pilot cognition
  • China postpones talks with Airbus: spokesman
  • Two China airlines to get govt aid: state media
  • China's air show saw four bln dollars in deals: report

    • NUCLEAR SPACE
    The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement