dr- – Alternative Energies

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department
dr-
January 16, 2016
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UAE desert sand can store solar energy up to 1000°c

Researchers have successfully demonstrated that desert sand from the UAE could be used in concentrated solar power (CSP) facilities to store thermal energy up to 1000°C. The research project called ‘Sandstock’ has been seeking to develop a sustainable and low-cost gravity-fed solar receiver and storage system, using sand particles as the heat collector, heat transfer and thermal energy storage media.

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chemistry
dr-
January 12, 2016
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New approaches for hybrid solar cells

Using a new procedure researchers can now produce extremely thin and robust, yet highly porous semiconductor layers. A very promising material — for small, lightweight, flexible solar cells, for example, or electrodes improving the performance of rechargeable batteries.

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case
current
December 29, 2015
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Low-cost wafers for solar cells

Silicon wafers are the heart of solar cells. However, manufacturing them is not cheap. Over 50 percent of the pure silicon used is machined into dust. A new manufacturing technique puts an end to these material losses, with raw material savings of 50 percent along with an 80 percent reduction in energy costs.

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carbon
dr-
December 29, 2015
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Graphene as a front contact for silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells

A team of researchers has developed an elegant process for coating fragile perovskite layers with graphene for the first time. Subsequent measurements show that the graphene layer is an ideal front contact in several respects.