Will the solar energy challenge of efficiency be solved at ORC, Tampere?

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Tampere University of Technology’s Optoelectronics Research Centre, ORC has been granted 2.5 million euros in ERC funding. Expected results of the research could make Finland one of the leading countries in solar energy expertise.

Today, the best performing solar panels are able to convert up to 30–40 per cent of the energy contained in sunrays, while the new cells could improve this number to over 50 per cent.

“Percentage-wise, this may not sound like a major improvement, but when you consider the fact that increased cell efficiency could reduce the energy costs by at least 20%, we are talking about billions of euros worldwide,” the project leader, Professor Mircea Guina explains.

Deploying this technology could potentially make Finland one of the world’s forefront countries in terms of next generation solar energy solutions and also in the field of renewable energy as a whole.

"The funding is a testimony that TUT currently holds world leading expertise in solar energy research," Professor Mircea Guina says.

“To give you an idea of the scope: a whole soccer field full of current silicon cells could be replaced with just a few square meters worth of new cells made of the III–V materials and produce same energy,” Guina explains.

 

Read the whole news about the funding at Tampere University of Technology website.

Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) of Tampere University of Technology (TUT) is the leading is the leading nanophotonics and optoelectronics research centre in Finland. 
http://www.tut.fi/en/about-tut/departments/optoelectronics-research-centre/