Presentation 6
Commercializing Dye Solar Cells For Low Cost Solar Electricity
Mr . David Waimann CEO
Orionsolar, Ltd.
*************************************
Solar energy technology is effective and reliable. More than 700 MW of solar modules are sold each year in a market worth 4$ billion per annum. However, for solar energy to take a more significant slice of the world energy market, manufacturing costs must be lowered below 70 cents per peak watt. Orionsolar’s improvements to existing dye cell technology will enable achievement of this target.
The solar dye cell is based on photoelectrochemical processes that are similar to photosynthesis. Current is generated by photoinjection of electrons from dye molecules into a wide band gap inorganic semiconductor and hole transport by a redox mediator in a suitable electrolyte. The preferred semiconductor for dye cells is layer of nanosized titanium dioxide particles that is porous and of very large surface area, which is critical to efficiency of the cell.
Silicon is the most popular solution today for solar electricity. Existing silicon modules are expensive and have achieved market penetration only with the aid of subsides. Dye cells have the following advantage over silicon:They use inexpensive raw materials.The production line cost 80% less than the cost of a silicon line.Lightweight modules can be manufactured.
Furthermore, Dye cells work well in a wide range of lighting conditions and orientation and they are less sensitive to partial shadowing.
Dye cell technology has made many advances over the years. Orionsolar has developed new intellectual property leading to larger cells and reduced manufacturing cost. The dye cell modules may be installed on rooftops to feed electricity back into the grid and they are especially applicable to remote non-grid applications.
