Solar Energy Boost Project Receives £1.1 Million Funding

A team led by the University of Surrey that are aiming to transform the way we generate power at large scale has received funding to advance its work.

The £1.1 million grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) will be used to create new designs for surfaces that can selectively absorb sunlight while also efficiently emitting heat as near-infrared radiation. Instead of converting sunlight into energy like solar cells, the new solar-thermal devices generate heat from sunlight. That heat can then be used to drive mechanical engines or it can be converted into electricity.

The research project is led by the University of Surrey, in collaboration with the University of Bristol and Northumbria University. It will combine the researchers expertise in photonics, advanced materials and applied electromagnetics, and be conducted in world-class nanofabrication facilities.

Talking about the research, professor Marian Florescu, Principal Investigator from the University of Surrey, said, "The project is about responding to a global necessity. The sun showers us with a tremendous amount of energy every day, far more than we currently capture. By developing these advanced solar-absorbing surfaces, we are opening up new, efficient ways to harness this energy. Our goal is to transform how we use sunlight, making clean and sustainable energy that meets our growing needs without harming the planet."

The aims of the project include the development of solar absorbers that can work well even at very high temperatures, improving the efficiency of the solar absorbing structures that have been developed by the team, building and testing new prototypes and to gain a better understanding of how the devices handle and perform with the heat they generate from sunlight before making improvements.

Professor Marin Cryan, Co-Principal Investigator from the University of Bristol, said of his teams expertise, "The University of Bristol has been developing thermionic solar cell technology for a number of years. These use concentrated sunlight to heat materials to the point where thermionic emission of electrons occurs, which can form the basis of high-efficiency, low-cost solar cells. The project will develop very efficient solar selective absorbers, which will be an important component of the overall cell design."

Dr Daniel Ho, Co-Principal Investigator from Northumbria University, described hos own university’s part in the project by saying, "Northumbria University is at the forefront of thermophotovoltaic research, utilising a specialised microscope heating stage alongside an in-house built Fourier imaging spectroscopy system. This advanced thermal analysis technique enables comprehensive and angle-resolved scattering analysis across both visible and infrared spectrums, even under vacuum conditions and at temperatures as high as 1000°C. We are excited to work with our partners to help achieve pioneering developments in renewable energy research.”

www.surrey.ac.uk