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CENER
[VIPERLAB Consortium]
CENER at a glance
The National Renewable Energy Centre of Spain (CENER) develops applied research in renewable energies, and provides technological support to companies and energy institutions in six areas: wind, solar thermal and photovoltaic solar energy, biomass, smart and efficient buildings and districts, and grid integration of energy. CENER is a technology centre with worldwide recognised prestige, activity and experience.
The aim of Photovoltaic Solar Energy Area is to support the industrial sector and to
contribute to reducing the costs of kWh produced by PV means. The Area is midway between basic research and industrial manufacturing environments. R&D activities are complemented with components validation and other certification services, including PV solar plants to generate electricity.
The infrastructures for Solar PV testing and research are deployed over more than 700 m2. Laboratories are equipped with cutting-edge tools in both aspects, the testing of components (PV modules, inverters, trackers…) and the research in materials technology and process for PV cells fabrication (c-Silicon wafer based and full processing of Silicon thin film mini-modules (15cmx15cm).
Activity is also developed on new PV devices (OPV and PK) with full testing and characterization capabilities. Laboratories are complemented with outdoor test facilities dedicated to systems and components activities and those requiring high radiation dose and direct radiation are done in Almería (Southern Spain).
The diverse technical qualifications of department members enable the development of activities ranging from the study of photovoltaic cell materials and technologies for PV cells and modules up to the design and testing of the final PV plant.
Main role and tasks in the project
CENER tasks are related to the sharing of two relevant infrastructures: the accredited PV Module testing Lab and the modelling station for perovskite PV devices. Within WP3-VA1, CENER will lead the creation of the VAPo and the management of virtual access to VIPERLAB’s virtual infrastructures.
On the networking activities side, CENER will mainly participate in WP4-NA1: Harmonization and paths towards standardization contributing in the Networking activities with standardization committees since CENER is a member of IEC TC82 and actively participate in standardization activities.
On the joint research activities, CENER mainly participates in:
- WP7- JRA1- Materials and device innovation infrastructure contributing in the tasks related to the compilation of data correlating device characteristics to device properties accessible for academics and industry, the development of numerical tools for device modelling and the monitoring of latest advances in new applications for perovskite PV devices.
- WP9-JRA3 -Characterization & Standardization leading the task related to the development of common measurement protocols for perovskite PV devices. CENER will also contribute to the other tasks proposed in this WP which deal with aging protocols and encapsulations assessment.
- WP10-JRA4 - Environmental, social and economic impact. The main contribution in this WP will be related to data collection of materials and processes utilized for manufacturing perovskite PV devices.
Links
Infrastructures
- EC Accredited PV Module testing Lab
- State of the art equipment for the development and application of specific protocols to characterize photovoltaic devices based on organic or perovskite materials
- Custom-made stabilization, aging and reliability testing based on approved standards.
Modelling and design of solar cells using TCAD Silvaco software, applied to:
- Single and multijunction solar cells
- Planar and textured devices
- Customized material characteristics
Expertise
Webinars
[1] - Took place on Feb, 08th 2022
Modelling, high performance computing and efficient access to data sets based on data reported in the literature and experimental work are important tools to accelerate research in the field of photovoltaic perovskite, and beyond. With this workshop VIPERLAB presents the importance of these topics for materials science technology and how the 4 virtual infrastructures of Viperlab project can support researchers from academy'and industry, with free access to their computing, modeling tools and the available datasets.
[1] - Took place on Jan, 26th 2023
The stability of perovskite devices is a key point should be addressed to achieve commercialisation. The key factors influencing the stability of the devices are the exposure to oxygen and moisture, UV light, solution processing and thermal effects. Encapsulation and standard testing protocols are required to check and improve stability. The two presented infrastructures offer state of the art equipment for the Perovskite Stability testing of materials and devices.
[1] - Took place on Jan, 17th 2024
The “VIPERLAB Webinar on Standardization for Perovskite PV” is a half-day online event on standardization activities in the field of PV, focusing on Perovskite materials and devices. Experts from international research institutes report on the current activities of the IEC Technical Committees 113 and 82, ISOS and PSK-ISOS, as well as on standardization activities regarding data ontologies and RDM.
Technical Documents
