Growing high-efficiency coloured photo voltaic panels for buildings – TechnoNews

The power transition in Germany, Europe, and the world over is driving sturdy demand for photo voltaic panels. Alongside excessive power yields, aesthetics and acceptance are additionally more and more essential elements. To accommodate these traits, a workforce of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Photo voltaic Power Methods ISE has developed an revolutionary photo voltaic facade aspect that may be integrated right into a constructing’s exterior virtually invisibly and with none vital lack of effectivity.

With the event of MorphoColor coating expertise, consultants have made an essential contribution to the growth of built-in photovoltaic programs in Germany. For this groundbreaking undertaking, they are going to be introduced with the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize for 2024.

Photovoltaic programs usually are not a preferred design characteristic amongst architects and constructing homeowners. Researchers Dr. Oliver Höhn, Dr. Thomas Kroyer and Andreas Wessels from Fraunhofer ISE, based mostly in Freiburg, got down to change that by growing aesthetically pleasing coloured photo voltaic panels that characteristic angularly steady, saturated colour with minimal lack of effectivity, to allow them to be built-in virtually invisibly into constructing exteriors.

Impressed by morpho butterflies

There are two essential elements for photo voltaic panels for building-integrated photovoltaic use. First, they should behave optically like a standard coloured aspect, and second, they need to nonetheless have the ability to generate as a lot energy as potential. To satisfy this problem, the researchers appeared to nature for inspiration—and located it in morpho butterflies.

“The 3D photonic structures on a morpho butterfly’s wings allow for an intensive, angularly stable colored impression thanks to a fundamentally low-loss interference effect,” explains Kroyer. Following this organic mannequin, the consultants from Fraunhofer ISE succeeded in utilizing a vacuum course of to use an identical floor construction to the again of the glass protecting their photo voltaic panels. Relying on the positive construction, this methodology can be utilized to provide glass coverings in numerous colours.

The coating system for coloured photo voltaic panels has now surpassed the organic mannequin by way of its properties. “Independent measurements confirm that the colored solar panels with MorphoColor coatings can achieve about 95 percent of the power of a comparable uncoated panel,” Wessels explains. That makes MorphoColor expertise far superior to all different comparable applied sciences out there available on the market.

MorphoColor expertise: A flexible plug-in answer with potential for the long run

The plug-in answer can be utilized with all commonplace commercially out there photo voltaic applied sciences in addition to these foreseeable sooner or later, plus it may be manufactured industrially at low price. Cell and panel applied sciences with a uniform look are an particularly good match. These embrace rear contact photo voltaic cells and the shingle matrix expertise additionally developed at Fraunhofer ISE—an meeting methodology paying homage to a brick wall.

“In shingle matrix technology, the conductive adhesive bonding of the solar cells eliminates the need for reflective metallic connectors between the cells, which leads to a homogeneous appearance. That means the solar cell technology remains completely invisible behind the colored layer. And that in turn enables aesthetically pleasing and complete visual integration into facades or roofs,” Höhn explains.

The MorphoColor trademark is already registered within the EU, Switzerland, China, the US, Japan, and South Korea. A license was granted in 2023 to Switzerland-based Megasol Energie AG, a number one European producer of photo voltaic panels and in-roof and facade set up programs that’s presently establishing the MorphoColor expertise available on the market.

Integration of photo voltaic panels into autos is one other promising discipline of improvement. Fraunhofer ISE introduced glass automobile roofs and hoods with built-in MorphoColor photo voltaic panels on the IAA automotive commerce present. All the main German automobile producers confirmed nice curiosity within the new expertise.