Michael Schwartz
Chief Technology Officer
3GSolar Photovoltaics Ltd.
Leading Developer of 3rd Generation Photovoltaics
3GSolar Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Technology
Optical Engineering 2014February 2014
Outline
- Company Background
- What is a DSC?
- Why DSC?
- 3GSolar R&D Program
- 3GSolar Markets
- Summary
2
Background on 3GSolar Photovoltaics
- Start-up company located in Jerusalem, Israel
- Team of 15 with broad experience in solar energy, dye cells, batteries, capacitors and materials
- Management headed by Barry Breen (CEO) and Dr. Jonathan Goldstein (President)
- Recent funding round successfully completed with Solar Partnership (UK), Israel Electric Co. and Ningbo (China)
- Aggressive business plan in place to raise efficiencies and compete in the builidng-integrated and plastic PV market sectors
3
Background on 3GSolar Photovoltaics
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What is a DSC?
5
- DSCs first invented in 1991 by M. Gratzel and B. O’Regan
- Described as an artificial photosynthesis
- Cells are comprised of a photoanode of nano-titania coated with a self-assembling monolayer of dye, a redox electrolyte and a nanocarbon-based counter electrode on glass (cathode)
What is a DSC?
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- Titania- Nanosized 15-40nm with high surface area
- Dyes- Ruthenium-based using polypyridyl ligands- Phthalocyanines and porphyrins- Wide range of organic dyes- Need to have proper energetics
- LUMO above TiO2 conduction band
- HOMO below electrolyte redox potential
- Electrolyte- Iodide/triiodide couple most common but record performance with
Co2+/3+ couple- Also solid-state hole conducting polymers
- Cathode Catalyst- Pt most common but carbon nanotubes, graphene and others used
DSC State-of-the Art
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3GSolar Relative Performance
Why DSC?
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DSCs Have Several Advantages over Conventional PV
Features Advantages Benefits
Screen Printing Manufacturing
Inexpensive Process Low cost of production
Not Vacuum BasedLow plant Cap Ex
Smaller Plant Sizes –profitable at <20MW
Nanoparticle Ceramic Structure
Low Light Operation
For outdoor applications, can produce up to 40% more power per rated watt than conventional silicon over the course of the day; For indoor
applications produces >100uW/cm2 where amorphous Si produces <5uW/cm2
Transparent Can be used in windows, skylights, sunroofs, etc.
Thin FilmFlexible Can be shaped to fit surfaces of consumer
electronics or building structuresLightweight Useful for portable devices
Dye as Light Absorber Range of Colors Adding and/or matching of colors to building interior or exterior surfaces
Why DSC?
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DSCs Have Several Advantages over Conventional PV
Features Advantages Benefits
Screen Printing Manufacturing
Inexpensive Process Lower cost of production – $0.35/W
Not Vacuum BasedLower plant Cap Ex - $0.35million/MW
Smaller Plant Sizes –profitable at <20MW
Nanoparticle Ceramic Structure
Low Light Operation
For outdoor applications, can produce up to 40% more power per rated watt than conventional silicon over the course of the day; For indoor
applications produces >100uW/cm2 where amorphous Si produces <5uW/cm2
Transparent Can be used in windows, skylights, sunroofs, etc.
Thin FilmFlexible Can be shaped to fit surfaces of consumer
electronics or building structuresLightweight Useful for portable devices
Dye as Light Absorber Range of Colors Adding and/or matching of colors to building interior or exterior surfaces
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3GSolar DSC module shows >10% difference in cumulative energy production per watt over the course of a sunny day
6:00 9:00 12:00 15:00 18:000
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0Pyranometer3GSolar DSC Modulec-Si Module
Time of Day
Nor
mal
ized
Ene
rgy
(Wh/
Wp)
Sola
r Irr
adia
nce
(W/m
^2)
>10%
Why DSC?
Why DSC?
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Better Light Conversion Over Course of Day
Why DSC?
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Better Light Conversion Over Course of Weeks
0
25
50
75
100N
orm
alize
d Ac
cum
ulat
ed
Ener
gy
3G Solar DSC Module 1
Si Module
12% difference
0255075
100125150
Nor
mal
ized
Accu
mul
ated
En
ergy
3G Solar DSC Module 1
Si Module
18% differenceSystem down
Why DSC?
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Better Light Conversion under Indoor Conditions
At 200 Lux, the 3GSolar DSC is 9.5 times more efficient than an 18.5% efficient mono-crystalline Si cell, and 3.5 times more
efficient than an amorphous Si cell.
Why DSC?
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DSCs Have Several Advantages over Conventional PV
Features Advantages Benefits
Screen Printing Manufacturing
Inexpensive Process Lower cost of production – $0.35/W
Not Vacuum BasedLower plant Cap Ex - $0.35million/MW
Smaller Plant Sizes –profitable at <20MW
Nanoparticle Ceramic Structure
Low Light Operation
For outdoor applications, can produce up to 40% more power per rated watt than conventional silicon over the course of the day; For indoor
applications produces >100uW/cm2 where amorphous Si produces <5uW/cm2
Transparent Can be used in windows, skylights, sunroofs, etc.
Thin FilmFlexible Can be shaped to fit surfaces of consumer
electronics or building structuresLightweight Useful for portable devices
Dye as Light Absorber Range of Colors Adding and/or matching of colors to building interior or exterior surfaces
Why DSC?
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DSCs Have Several Advantages over Conventional PV
•Transparent DSC module installed in algae growing tank producing both biomass and electricity in
same area.
3GSolar R&D Program
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Technical Issues
- Our goal is to achieve 10% efficiency in a large (225cm2) cell with 20 years stability
- Areas requiring additional R&D to achieve this goal:- Use of larger portion of visible spectrum, particularly into the IR- Higher voltage operation- Electron transfer kinetics, especially for non-iodide electrolytes- Better use of module area (active vs. total module area)- Flexible/Plastic- Transparent
3GSolar R&D Program
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Technical Issues
- Our goal is to achieve 10% efficiency in a large (225cm2) cell with 20 years stability
- Areas requiring additional R&D to achieve this goal:- Use of larger portion of visible spectrum, particularly into the IR- Higher voltage operation- Electron transfer kinetics, especially for non-iodide electrolytes- Better use of module area (active vs. total module area)- Flexible/Plastic- Transparent
3GSolar R&D Program
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Capturing More Light
Now
71%
0
20
40
60
80
400 500 600 700 800
IPCE
[%]
Incident Photon to Current Efficiency
- How?- New dyes and dye combinations- Optical effects- Upconversion or downconversion
3GSolar R&D Program
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Durability Under Sunlight
Efficiency ratio for each individual cell in the two year experiment performed outdoors in Jerusalem. The efficiency ratio is the ratio of efficiency at the start of the experiment to efficiency at the end of the experiment.
15X15CM PLASTIC DEMO CELLS
3GSolar R&D Program
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Flexible/Plastic Cells
- Inexpensive- Glass large DSC cost component
- Can be conformal to surface- Embedded power source for small
devices, energy harvesting- We’ve achieved an efficiency of 7.8%
under 1 sun
3GSolar Large Module
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32 Series-Connected Cells of 225cm2
3GSolar DSC Markets
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Building-Integrated Photovoltaics
Curtain walls and windowsOff-grid power
PV for greenhouses
Overhangs, awnings & parasols
Healthcare
3GSolar DSC Markets
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Energy Harvesting/Embedded Devices
Sensing3GSolar Plastic
CellConsumer
Wireless devices
Eliminate batteries in low power consumer electronics
Security cameras
Summary
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- DSC is the 3rd generation of photovoltaic technology- Poised to enter the market
- DSCs have several advantages over conventional PV- Low Cost- Low-Light Operation- Potential for Transparency
- 3GSolar has fabricated the world’s largest single cell- Performance of glass and plastic cells at the State-of-the
Art for large areas
- Technical issues still remain- 3GSolar has an active R&D program to solve these
remaining issues
Acknowledgements
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- 3GSolar Coworkers- Barry Breen (CEO), Jonathan Goldstein (President), Katya
Axelrod, Itzhak Barzilay, Nir Stein
- Academic Partners- Prof. A. Zaban (BIU)- Prof. D Oron (WI)- Prof. D Cahen (WI)- Prof. D. Aurbach (BIU)- Prof. C. Sukenik (BIU)
- Support from the Office of Chief Scientist (Eurostars, COBRA and NES)
THANK YOU
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