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Research group Solar energy and materials

Our research focuses on the development and demonstration of solutions for solar energy harvesting, spanning from crystallization of silicon for solar cells, through implementation and testing PV in use, to circular value chains and recycling of PV modules. Our competence on high temperature processing is also valuable for a range of other applications and materials.

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Research areas

Silicon and Ingots

  • Silicon feedstock
  • Crystallization and solidification
  • Czochralski pulling
  • Structure loss

Wafers & Cells

  • Solar cell physics
  • Wafer sawing
  • Defect characterization
  • High efficiency concepts

PV Modules and Systems

  • Module characterization
  • Integration in energy systems
  • Agrivoltaics and FPV

Circular Value Chains

  • Recycling of biproducts from solar cell production
  • Recycling end of life modules
  • Eco design of modules

Si for other Applications

  • Additive manufacturing
  • Si-based alloys
  • Functional materials

Our approach

Illustrasjon, blå og rød

Lab infrastructure

  • Module lab: Electrical and optical characterization
  • Crystallization lab: Direction solidification, Cz pulling and high temperature processing
  • Characterization lab: Characterization of material properties, impurities and microstructure
  • Alpha Centauri: High level PV metering and monitoring
  • Particle characterization lab

Modeling

  • Heat and mass transfer in multiphysics problems for crystal growth simulations and metal production
  • Atmospheric conditions, irradiance and ray tracing
  • Microstructural modeling

Data handling & analysis

  • Curation of PV data and meteorological data from Alpha Centauri and other PV installations
  • Techno-economic and environmental life cycle-analysis

Collaboration

  • NTNU and the Norwegian solar cell industry through The Research Center for Sustainable Solar Cell Technology (FME SuSolTech)
  • Solar Energy Cluster
  • SINTEF strategic research area Solar and Wind
  • Norwegian laboratory for silicon based solar cell technology


Employees in the research group for Solar energy and materials