UD receives $3.75 million in DOE grants for leading-edge solar research

From left, Ujjwal Das, research associate, Stuart Bowden, associate scientist, and Robert Birkmire, professor and director of UD's Institute of Energy Conversion, display high-efficiency silicon solar cells created in the... Click here for more information.

The University of Delaware's Institute of Energy Conversion (IEC) will receive $3.75 million from the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar America Initiative over the next three years to continue leading-edge research on photovoltaic-based solar cells.

Of the nine universities selected by DOE to receive the competitive funding, which is matched in part by industry collaborators, UD is the largest grant recipient and one of only two universities to be awarded two research projects, which will be conducted in collaboration with Dow Corning Corp. and SunPower Corp., respectively.

UD now leads the nation's universities in competitive funding received from DOE's Solar America Initiative, which is designed to accelerate the development of advanced solar energy technologies.

The latest two grants follow on the heels of UD's $1.2 million award in November from the Solar America Initiative's Future Generation Photovoltaic Devices and Processes program to develop advanced thin film-tandem junction solar cells. UD also is a subcontractor on four industry-led Solar America Initiative programs awarded to Dow Chemical, GE, Konarka and SoloPower.

The Solar America Initiative, part of President George W. Bush's Advanced Energy Initiative, seeks to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional forms of electricity by 2015 through complementary activities in the research and development of solar technologies to reduce costs, and in marketplace transformation to eliminate barriers to commercialization.

“The Solar America Initiative is an exciting program that will enable us to continue our research in established areas, as well as develop expertise in new facets of photovoltaics working with our industry partners,” said Robert Birkmire, professor of materials science and engineering and director of IEC.

Photovoltaic-based solar cells convert sunlight directly into electricity and are made of semiconductor materials similar to those used in computer chips. When sunlight is absorbed by these materials, the solar energy knocks electrons loose from the atoms, allowing the electrons to flow through the material to produce electricity.