IUCRC Phase III Colorado State University: Center for a Solar Powered Future (SPF2050)

Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO

Investigators

Abstract

Energy sustainability represents one of the grand challenges facing modern society; Solar power provides an important source of renewable energy. Photovoltaics (PV) or solar cells are solid-state, semiconductor-based devices that convert sunlight directly to electricity and do not generate pollution, emissions, or greenhouse gases during operation. The I/UCRC for Solar a Powered Future is focuses on PV research. The center promotes science and advances prosperity and welfare through the Center's ongoing research and education programs. These programs are focused on bringing down PV system costs, increasing PV system efficiencies, and enabling the widespread the use of PV electricity. The Center's research vision is to enable the US and the world achieve a zero-carbon footprint by 2050 using solar energy as a resource. There are currently two research sites in the Center: Colorado State University (CSU) and the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). The PV-training approach at CSU is strongly team based: students from different disciplines including a significant number of women and veterans, work closely with each other, with engineers from industry, and, in many cases, with students at other universities. The CSU site is focused on reducing the cost of solar energy by advancing thin film PV device performance, performing state-of-the-art materials characterization, streamlining manufacturing, performing quantum simulation, and improving module reliability. A key goal of the CSU site is to advance the state of the art by designing PV device structures with higher efficiencies, advanced module package designs, and advanced materials and materials characterization. A key research thrust is to demonstrate still higher cell efficiencies. Quantum simulations will aid this research. Reducing module manufacturing and materials costs while improving reliability and facilitating deployment are additional areas of focus. These advances have been demonstrated on pilot scale systems with a direct line of sight to industrial manufacturing. The efforts will lead to lower LCOE (levelized cost of electricity) and help facilitate the goal of 2-3 cents/kWhr. Overall, center has the potential to both increase the impact of the multi-billion-dollar U.S. PV industry that is growing rapidly and greatly expand the application of solar electricity. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.