The Netherlands' province of North Brabant, the Brabant Development Agency (BOM) and TNO – partner in Solliance – have signed a cooperation agreement for perovskite solar cells and integrated solar energy products.
At the Brainport Industry Campus (BIC) in Eindhoven, TNO is working on flexible solar energy laminates that can then be processed into components for buildings, infrastructure and vehicles. The research line was devised by TNO and built by partners from the business community – including MAAN and Duflex – with financial support from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. The line of research will also play a major role in the European project MC2.0, which will start in January 2023 under the leadership of TNO and for which 20 partners from different countries will provide input. In parallel, the research program on industrialize production of perovskites, is running. The goal is to bring both studies together in mass customization based on perovskite.
The collaboration with the province of Noord-Brabant will make it possible to take concrete steps in the coming years in the development of integrated PV components. The covenant with the province and BOM is the starting signal for an innovation coalition in the field of solar energy and offers the business community in Brainport and North Brabant opportunities to help shape this innovative development.
Various processes are being developed for making flexible semi-finished products with PV functionality in all conceivable sizes, shapes and electrical power. Component manufacturers can incorporate such semi-finished products into their own products without radically changing their production process.
Provincial executive Martijn van Gruijthuijsen: ‘With this new collaboration, we hope to make solar energy better, cheaper and more readily available, and we lay the foundation for more production in Europe.’ Brigit van Dijk – Van de Reijt, general director of BOM, adds: ‘Innovation is indispensable for realizing the energy transition. As BOM, we are therefore fully committed to making innovative companies ready for the market and investment that take solar energy to the next level.’
Market director Energy & Materials Transition at TNO, Harm Jeeninga, concludes: ‘We will demonstrate with our partners from the entire supply chain that automated production of integrated PV elements is cost-effective in existing and new markets. In the first instance, this concerns building elements in facades and roofing, but we have also shown that you can incorporate PV components aesthetically and effectively in the roof and bonnet of cars or in noise barriers. We are convinced that integrated PV components can be produced tens of percent cheaper by developing this value chain regionally. The introduction of affordable semi-finished products will create a completely new market in which the ecosystem in Brabant can play a leading role.’