Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354551
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Network for Renewable Energy. The proposed Research Network will integrate and coordinate the entire research field of renewable energy in Australia. This Network covers a diverse range of technologies, and includes all prominent researchers in the area of renewable energy in Australia. The Network is strengthened by the inclusion of key people from government agencies, industry, industry associations and international research organisations.
Australia is a leading player in the ....ARC Research Network for Renewable Energy. The proposed Research Network will integrate and coordinate the entire research field of renewable energy in Australia. This Network covers a diverse range of technologies, and includes all prominent researchers in the area of renewable energy in Australia. The Network is strengthened by the inclusion of key people from government agencies, industry, industry associations and international research organisations.
Australia is a leading player in the world's renewable energy industry. An effective structure for networking and for the exchange of people, information and research results will maintain and improve Australia's position in this rapidly growing industry.Read moreRead less
Advanced metallisation for III-V Photovoltaic Solar Power Systems. This project aims to augment the overall electrical efficiency of concentrator photovoltaic solar systems that provide large-scale generation of cheap, clean electricity. Existing concentrator solar cells are highly efficient (>40%) but their performance is hampered by thick front-metal contacts that shade the cell. The project is expected to develop a new concentrator solar cell metalisation and insulation technology. The benefi ....Advanced metallisation for III-V Photovoltaic Solar Power Systems. This project aims to augment the overall electrical efficiency of concentrator photovoltaic solar systems that provide large-scale generation of cheap, clean electricity. Existing concentrator solar cells are highly efficient (>40%) but their performance is hampered by thick front-metal contacts that shade the cell. The project is expected to develop a new concentrator solar cell metalisation and insulation technology. The benefit of the project will be a direct increase in the system efficiency and simplified manufacturing of the concentrator solar receiver, which in turn reduces the cost of the concentrator power plant constructed by our Australian project partner RayGen Resources Pty Ltd.Read moreRead less
A new defect-control approach for mismatched heteroepitaxy semiconductors. This project aims to develop a new defect-control approach for silicon-germanium heteroepitaxial semiconductor systems to provide a route for high-throughput, low-cost, high-efficiency silicon tandem solar cells. Mismatched heteroepitaxy of semiconductors is of considerable interest for fabricating novel devices. However, the use of highly-mismatched heteroepitaxial semiconductors has been limited due to the high densitie ....A new defect-control approach for mismatched heteroepitaxy semiconductors. This project aims to develop a new defect-control approach for silicon-germanium heteroepitaxial semiconductor systems to provide a route for high-throughput, low-cost, high-efficiency silicon tandem solar cells. Mismatched heteroepitaxy of semiconductors is of considerable interest for fabricating novel devices. However, the use of highly-mismatched heteroepitaxial semiconductors has been limited due to the high densities of crystal defects which degrade the performance of both majority and minority carrier devices. This project aims to develop a new defect-control approach for heteroepitaxial semiconductors by continuous wavelength diode laser processing. With heteroepitaxial silicon-germanium as an example, the project will investigate the mechanism underlying defect-cleaning, optimised designs for best performance, and designs for high-efficiency tandem solar cells.Read moreRead less
Kesterite solar cell coated architectural stainless steel. This project aims to develop cost-effective, high-performance kesterite architectural stainless steel coated with solar cells for application in roofing, skin and facades of smart buildings. The project will integrate expertise in producing kesterite solar cells with expertise in manufacturing new steel to eliminate toxic, scarce materials and high-cost processes employed in conventional solar-driven steel. The initial target of the proj ....Kesterite solar cell coated architectural stainless steel. This project aims to develop cost-effective, high-performance kesterite architectural stainless steel coated with solar cells for application in roofing, skin and facades of smart buildings. The project will integrate expertise in producing kesterite solar cells with expertise in manufacturing new steel to eliminate toxic, scarce materials and high-cost processes employed in conventional solar-driven steel. The initial target of the project would be to increase kesterite cell efficiency to beyond 10 per cent, and ultimately beyond 17 per cent, but still at a low cost.Read moreRead less
Stable Non-toxic Organic-inorganic Halide Perovskite Solar Cells. The project aims to develop next-generation organic-inorganic halide solar cells which are stable and non-toxic. Although rapid progress has been made in the emerging perovskite solar cell technology, it currently relies on lead as a key perovskite component. The elimination of lead from organic-inorganic halide perovskite solar cells would greatly increase their acceptance as an alternative thin film photovoltaic solution because ....Stable Non-toxic Organic-inorganic Halide Perovskite Solar Cells. The project aims to develop next-generation organic-inorganic halide solar cells which are stable and non-toxic. Although rapid progress has been made in the emerging perovskite solar cell technology, it currently relies on lead as a key perovskite component. The elimination of lead from organic-inorganic halide perovskite solar cells would greatly increase their acceptance as an alternative thin film photovoltaic solution because of their low cost and non-toxic nature. The dearth of lead-free perovskite solar cell demonstrations and the relatively low conversion efficiencies demonstrated understate their potential. This project plans to improve understanding of their photovoltaic enabling attributes by characterising and modelling their optical and electrical properties. It then plans to apply new fabrication methods to develop lead-free solar devices.Read moreRead less
Electronically Conducting Nanofibres and Assemblies. With the use of new techniques that have just emerged in the last two years and are receiving rapidly growing interest throughout the world, this project will bring to Australia a new nanofabrication platform for making a variety of complex nanostructures. Fundamental researches on these complex nanostructures will greatly advance nanoscience. New nanotechnologies will be developed to address some world-wide challenging problems, e.g. energy ....Electronically Conducting Nanofibres and Assemblies. With the use of new techniques that have just emerged in the last two years and are receiving rapidly growing interest throughout the world, this project will bring to Australia a new nanofabrication platform for making a variety of complex nanostructures. Fundamental researches on these complex nanostructures will greatly advance nanoscience. New nanotechnologies will be developed to address some world-wide challenging problems, e.g. energy conversion and storage, chemical/biological sensing and other micro- and nanoelectronic devices. This project will bring both breakthrough science and frontier technologies for building and transforming Australian industries and help place Australia at the forefront of nanotechnology. Read moreRead less
Indoor Photovoltaics Enabled by Wide-Bandgap Perovskite Quantum Dots. This project aims to develop a high-efficiency indoor photovoltaic (PV) technology to provide reliable low-cost power in the multi-billion dollar “Internet of Things” (IoT) market. There are currently no devices that meet the requirements for maximum operating efficiency under indoor illumination. We propose to solve this problem by fabricating PV cells using colloidal perovskite quantum dots that offer class-leading stability ....Indoor Photovoltaics Enabled by Wide-Bandgap Perovskite Quantum Dots. This project aims to develop a high-efficiency indoor photovoltaic (PV) technology to provide reliable low-cost power in the multi-billion dollar “Internet of Things” (IoT) market. There are currently no devices that meet the requirements for maximum operating efficiency under indoor illumination. We propose to solve this problem by fabricating PV cells using colloidal perovskite quantum dots that offer class-leading stability and band gap tunability across the required range, enabled by quantum confinement. The outcome is the development of integrated self-powered IoT devices potentially impacting Advanced Manufacturing growth in Energy, Cyber Security, Food and Agribusiness, as all of these will ultimately rely on networked smart devices.Read moreRead less
PROCESSING OF REDUCED-BAND-GAP TITANIA FOR SOLAR-HYDROGEN. The present project involves the development of materials and devices for solar-hydrogen using photo-assisted water decomposition. The research focusses on the processing of titanium dioxide (titania) with substantially enhanced photo-sensitivity and, consequently, increased efficiency of the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy (hydrogen) through imposition of the optimal Ti/O ratio. Significance: processing technology of tit ....PROCESSING OF REDUCED-BAND-GAP TITANIA FOR SOLAR-HYDROGEN. The present project involves the development of materials and devices for solar-hydrogen using photo-assisted water decomposition. The research focusses on the processing of titanium dioxide (titania) with substantially enhanced photo-sensitivity and, consequently, increased efficiency of the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy (hydrogen) through imposition of the optimal Ti/O ratio. Significance: processing technology of titania for photo-electrochemical devices for hydrogen generation and water decontamination. Innovation: processing of titania with reduced band-gap to be achieved through optimised oxygen nonstoichiometry. Outcome: processing technology of titania with outstanding photo-sensitivity.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence - Australian Centre for Electromaterials Science. The Centre will tackle some of the biggest challenges facing society: those of renewable energy, sustainable industries and enhancing human health. Improvements in all these areas are possible by developing electromaterials with improved efficiency in the generation and transfer of electrical charge. By developing new nano-materials and new theories to explain their behaviour, the Centre will make advances in the areas ....ARC Centre of Excellence - Australian Centre for Electromaterials Science. The Centre will tackle some of the biggest challenges facing society: those of renewable energy, sustainable industries and enhancing human health. Improvements in all these areas are possible by developing electromaterials with improved efficiency in the generation and transfer of electrical charge. By developing new nano-materials and new theories to explain their behaviour, the Centre will make advances in the areas of human health through the regeneration of damaged nerves (eg. in spinal injury) and development of artificial muscles; in renewable energy (plastic solar cells, lightweight batteries and electronic textiles) and in sustainable industries (recovery of precious metals and new corrosion protection technologies).Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100107
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$415,000.00
Summary
Time-resolved terahertz and optical spectroscopy facility. Time-resolved terahertz and optical spectroscopy facility:
This project aims to use time-resolved terahertz and optical spectroscopy as techniques to probe the photogenerated exciton and charge carrier dynamics at the heart of solar energy technologies. The dynamics of electrons and nuclei following the absorption of light involves processes which occur on timescales from femtoseconds to microseconds. The ability to probe these dynamics ....Time-resolved terahertz and optical spectroscopy facility. Time-resolved terahertz and optical spectroscopy facility:
This project aims to use time-resolved terahertz and optical spectroscopy as techniques to probe the photogenerated exciton and charge carrier dynamics at the heart of solar energy technologies. The dynamics of electrons and nuclei following the absorption of light involves processes which occur on timescales from femtoseconds to microseconds. The ability to probe these dynamics is of great importance for understanding the underlying photophysics and photochemistry of a range of technologies including solar photovoltaics and solar photocatalysis. This facility would enable researchers to deeply understand the photophysical processes occurring in advanced photovoltaic and photocatalysis materials and devices and may facilitate the development of advanced materials for renewable energy. Read moreRead less