Hub sheds light on solar research
As part of a £5 million collaborative project to promote the latest research into harnessing the sun’s energy to produce electricity, our researchers are exploring all aspects of photovoltaic (PV) energy generation, from research into new materials for solar panels, to the socio-economic aspects of using the sun as a source of electricity.
The unique consortium, funded by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), is led in Bath by:
- Professor Alison Walker - Department of Physics
- Professor Mike Hill - Department of Chemistry
- Dr Aron Walsh - Department of Chemistry.
One of the projects taking place as part of this new ‘SUPERSOLAR Hub’ aims to tackle major challenges in the development of stable dye-sensitized solar cells. These cells offer exciting possibilities for applications in building solar power into consumer electronics, such as mobile phones, watches and fitness devices.
However, these cells have complex structures which cause them to degrade too quickly for use in their current incarnation. For them to be widely used, fundamental science has to be done to understand the causes of degradation and find ways of enhancing their life time and stability without sacrificing performance and scalability.
This project will explore why this degradation takes place, and is strongly committed to promote breakthroughs at the frontiers of science and engineering that could have a significant impact on future consumer electronics.
Energy research at Bath
One of the major challenges in the twenty-first century is the development of cleaner, sustainable means of energy conversion and storage in order to address the problems posed by global warming.
Energy research at Bath pulls together expertise from the sciences, engineering and psychology departments, focusing on key issues including:
- development of novel energy generation
- storage techniques
- security of supply and network demands
- the experiences of the end user.
