The ZEUS Undertaking to harness photo voltaic power in house with nanowire know-how
by Hugo Ritmico
Madrid, Spain (SPXR) Oct 10, 2024
The College of Malaga (UMA) is collaborating in a world consortium to advance the gathering and transmission of photo voltaic power in house via the ‘ZEUS’ challenge, a part of the Horizon EIC Pathfinder Challenges. This European challenge, coordinated by Lund College in Sweden, has been awarded almost euro 4 million to develop modern nanowire photo voltaic cells designed to function within the harsh situations of house.
The ZEUS challenge, or Zero-loss Vitality harvesting Utilizing nanowire photo voltaic cells in House, focuses on creating radiation-resistant photovoltaic cells that may effectively soak up photo voltaic power. Nanowires, that are needle-shaped constructions simply 200 nanometers in diameter-much thinner than a human hair-allow for prime resistance to radiation and optimum gentle absorption.
“Protecting roughly 10 % of a floor with lively materials is all that’s wanted to soak up as a lot gentle as a skinny layer masking your entire floor of the identical materials would do,” defined Enrique Barrigon, professor of Utilized Physics I at UMA and the challenge lead on the college.
At present, nanowire photo voltaic cells utilized in house obtain round 15% effectivity. ZEUS goals to spice up this considerably, doubtlessly reaching as much as 47% effectivity by using superior III-V semiconductor supplies. The challenge additionally explores transferring these photo voltaic cells to versatile, light-weight substrates, which may very well be used to create massive deployable photovoltaic panels for house functions.
Along with its concentrate on technical innovation, the ZEUS challenge emphasizes environmental sustainability, together with decarbonization and the environment friendly use of essential uncooked supplies. Professor Barrigon highlighted that the challenge not solely seeks to reveal the business viability of nanowire photo voltaic cells but additionally to evaluate their environmental affect, notably for space-based energy era methods. One potential software is growing the ability output of communications satellites.
The College of Malaga will play a key position in characterizing these superior photo voltaic cells and conducting the checks required to make sure their sturdiness within the house setting.
The Horizon EIC Pathfinder Challenges program helps pioneering applied sciences like ZEUS that would form the long run by enabling the event of revolutionary applied sciences. The College of Malaga can also be concerned in different tasks beneath this program, together with ‘BioRobot-MiniHeart’ and ‘SONICOM,’ furthering its contributions to cutting-edge innovation.
Analysis Undertaking:Zero-loss Vitality harvesting Utilizing nanowire photo voltaic cells in House (ZEUS)
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