NOVA-CELL - Non Vacuum deposition & metallisation of CIGS solar cells
Lead Participant:
PRECISION VARIONIC INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Abstract
The UK has substantial built up areas which can be utilised to develop large scale installations of PV. However
despite the inherent advantages of Building integrated PV, unsubsidised PV uptake is still limited due to the
high investment costs & slow payback timescales. Thin film PV offers significant advantages over conventional
c-Si solar cells for BIPV, including; (i) Ease of installation, (ii) ability to afix cells without drilling roofs or using
complex fixturing, (iii) cell efficiency (at non optimal elevations) & (iv) weight (~30% the weight of crystalline Si).
CIGS solar cells offer considerable promise with record efficiecnies of 21.7%. However, widespread uptake of
CIGS technologies is limited due to the inherent high cost/W of the cells. NOVA-Cell will address the cost/W of
CIGS cells by undertaking a feasiblity study to assess the application of novel non-vacuum chemical spray
assisted vapour deposition of CIGS to replace exisitng high cost vacuum based technologies. The project will
also study the application of novel ESJET printing of fine structure fingers & busbar Cu metallisation to replace
expensive screen printed Ag pastes to increase cell efficiency by 0.6% & reduce the overall cost/W by 10.6%.
despite the inherent advantages of Building integrated PV, unsubsidised PV uptake is still limited due to the
high investment costs & slow payback timescales. Thin film PV offers significant advantages over conventional
c-Si solar cells for BIPV, including; (i) Ease of installation, (ii) ability to afix cells without drilling roofs or using
complex fixturing, (iii) cell efficiency (at non optimal elevations) & (iv) weight (~30% the weight of crystalline Si).
CIGS solar cells offer considerable promise with record efficiecnies of 21.7%. However, widespread uptake of
CIGS technologies is limited due to the inherent high cost/W of the cells. NOVA-Cell will address the cost/W of
CIGS cells by undertaking a feasiblity study to assess the application of novel non-vacuum chemical spray
assisted vapour deposition of CIGS to replace exisitng high cost vacuum based technologies. The project will
also study the application of novel ESJET printing of fine structure fingers & busbar Cu metallisation to replace
expensive screen printed Ag pastes to increase cell efficiency by 0.6% & reduce the overall cost/W by 10.6%.
Lead Participant | Project Cost | Grant Offer |
---|---|---|
PRECISION VARIONIC INTERNATIONAL LIMITED | £165,280 | £ 115,696 |
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Participant |
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UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON | ||
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON | ||
INNOVATE UK |
People |
ORCID iD |