The Swiss start-up Insolight aims to be the first company to commercialize a high-efficiency III-V based low profile micro-CPV product that uses planar micro-tracking to eliminate the need for a tilting solar tracker, allowing rooftop mounting using typical flat-plate hardware, as well diffuse light capture using low cost Si solar cells which cover the area of the back plane not taken up by III-V solar cells. The IES-UPM has made an initial performance evaluation of a 0.1m2 prototype. We show that the integrated planar tracking can reach 55° AOI, show CSTC efficiency near to 30% for III-V output, and demonstrate the diffuse capture and planar tracking capability in a multi-week test campaign at our test site in Madrid. Index Terms-integrated planar tracking, diffuse light collection, micro-concentrator photovoltaics.
A tracking-integrated hybrid micro-concentrator module is presented that can harvest direct, diffuse, and albedo irradiance components. It uses biconvex 180× lens arrays to concentrate direct light on high-efficiency III-V solar cells (29% module efficiency has been demonstrated outdoors on direct sunlight at Concentrator Standard Test Conditions) and a planar micro-tracking mechanism to allow installation in static frames. Two architectures have been developed to harvest diffuse irradiance: (1) a hybrid architecture where the backplane is covered with monofacial or bifacial Si cells; (2) a translucent architecture where diffuse light is transmitted through the module for dual-land-use applications, such as agrivoltaics. Simulations show that the hybrid architecture provides an excess of yearly energy production compared to 20% efficiency flat-plate photovoltaic (PV) module in all locations studied, including those with a low direct normal irradiance (DNI) content, and up to 38% advantage in high-DNI locations. The use of bifacial heterojunction and interdigitated back-contact Si cells has been explored for the glass-Si-glass backplane laminate to harvest albedo light. Bifacial gains modeled can boost energy yield by about 30% in the best scenario. We discuss the perspectives of the translucent modules for dual-land-use applications as well, such as integration in greenhouses for agriculture-integrated PV (agrivoltaics). This architecture can provide up to 47% excess electricity compared to a spaced reference Si array that transmits the same amount of solar
or where extending the power connection lines would not be economically justifiable. Besides its direct use for lighting, appliances, etc., stand-alone photovoltaic electricity can be utilized to generate a valuable chemical feedstock via electrochemical processes. They are the natural entry point for PV integration, as these processes specifically require direct electricity to operate. Their scalability, coupled with the possibility to modulate the load and possibly operate on-demand, facilitates the implementation of timevarying renewable energy sources. [2] Most of the research efforts have been recently devoted to the investigation of solar hydrogen devices, following two distinguished paths: photoelectrochemical (PEC) or photo voltaic-electrolysis (PV-E) devices. The latter approach appears to be more technologically mature for shortterm implementation and have been demonstrated using multijunction solar cells [3] and inexpensive silicon cells.[4] While most efforts in the past decades have focus on the development of cost-effective hydrogen-generators, little attention has been dedicated to the development of stand-alone solar-reactors for the electrochemical generation of different commodities, e.g., halides that can already count on an established industrial practice. [5] Chlorine is used as a feedstock for the manufacture of numerous products in more than 50% of all the industrial processes. [6] The main route to produce chlorine is the chloralkali process, one of the largest electrochemical operations in industry; it accounts for a yearly energy consumption of 150 TWh, 1% of the global overall and 2% of the US electrical production. [7] Molecular hydrogen and hydroxide ions (which can later be extracted as sodium hydroxide) are generated in the cathodic reaction. The predominant chloralkali electrochemical reactors implement membranes [8] that separate a De Nora DSA anode and a nickel-based cathode. [9] The anodic coating is a metallic oxide blend, constituted of a mixture of ruthenium and titanium oxides mainly. Beside the importance of chlorine and sodium hydroxide as chemical feedstocks, hydrogen could be fully recovered, power to a significant extent the process itself or serve as an energy vector and further impact different sectors (e.g., mobility). It is therefore evident that the chloralkali process (and oxidation of halides in general) holds an intrinsic economic advantage when compared to the traditional
Solar-powered electrochemical technologies can be employed to generate valuable chemical commodities on-site. We demonstrate solar-driven production of sodium hypochlorite, a widely employed water disinfection agent.
Planar micro-tracking concentrator photovoltaic modules hold great promises, as they enable the combination of efficiencies greater than 30% with the form factor of conventional rooftop panels operating at fixed tilt. Over the past three years, Insolight has been developing a fixed-tilt system, combining a biconvex silicone lens array, high efficiency multi-junction cells and integrated micro-tracking. A first prototype built in 2016 was validated with a peak conversion efficiency of 36.4 %. On the path towards industrialization of the systems, we present the evolution from the first lab prototype to fully automated panels featuring several thousands cells, installed on a rooftop pilot site. Continuous operation and data logging of the outdoor installation over a year enable us to validate a simple and robust integrated micro-tracking scheme. Recent measurements showed a module efficiency of 29% at concentrated standard test conditions. Different hybrid PV-CPV architectures are under evaluation for the capture of global irradiance.
Chlorine is a chemical commodity widely used; it is estimated to be employed in half of the goods used and consumed on a daily basis. One of the main sector is water treatment, where chlorine and other chlorinated compounds are employed as powerful disinfectant agents to remove waterborne pathogens from reservoirs or effluents. Chlorine is most commonly produced via electrochemical routes (the so-called chlor-alkali process), in a membrane-based reactor. Concentrated sodium chloride brines (20-26% in weight) are utilized as anolytes; chloride ions undergo oxidation to generate molecular chlorine, which is later separated. The common catholyte of choice is sodium hydroxide (30% in weight); the counter reaction – water reduction – allows to concentrate the sodium hydroxide brines and generate hydrogen. The process accounts for three useful products as opposed to water-splitting which produces hydrogen and oxygen, but the latter is often considered a waste. The chlor-alkali process produces 60 million tons of chlorine each year, accounting for 1% of the overall global energy consumption. Currently, the process involves an electrochemical apparatus fed by almost exclusively grid electricity. Here we present a stand-alone, solar-powered chlor-alkali device potentially able: (i) to be deployed in remote locations, where accessing the grid is unfeasible or unpractical, and where waterborne diseases are generally a great threat; (ii) to decrease the external energy demand of centralized chlor-alkali facilities by using cheap photovoltaic electricity during daytime. Our prototype comprised three key elements: (i) an innovative planar solar concentrator working at high efficiencies (>80%) over a broad angular acceptance (±40°) illuminating (ii) multi-junction, gallium-arsenide solar cells, illuminated by the solar concentrator; (iii) an electrochemical reactor fabricated via additive manufacturing. The electrolyzer is constituted by a nickel-based cathode and a dimensionally-stable-anode (DSA), separated by a cation exchange membrane. The device showed a continuously stable operation when exposed to natural sunlight illumination, with performances that closely match the predictions based on the nearest weather station. Under the tested experimental conditions, 25.1% sun-to-chlorine efficiencies (SCE) were recorded over 2 hours at mid day. A full summer 12 hour-day was reproduced indoor in terms of illumination direction and intensity for each hour of the day; results show the capability of employing the innovative tracking strategy without strict angular limitations over an entire typical day. Our analysis demonstrated that the technology could be scaled to meet the chlorine demands of a real case scenario, e.g. a small size hospital accommodating forty patients. Preliminary techno-economical evaluations revealed that the levelized cost of solar chlorine could be competitive with the current market. Despite the relatively small input area of the device tested (5 cm2), we demonstrated that it holds the potential to be scaled up and practically implemented. We believe our technology could trigger the deployment of solar-chlorine generators to communities suffering access to poor quality water reservoirs; moreover, our approach could spur further penetration of renewable energy in industrial processes.
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