Effect of the ambient conditions on the operation of a large-area integrated photovoltaic-electrolyser

Abstract

Temperature affects the efficiency of an integrated photovoltaic-electrolyser significantly more than the photovoltaic cells alone.

Prediction of Limits of Solar‐to‐Hydrogen Efficiency from Polarization Curves of the Electrochemical Cells

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] In particular, efficient photovoltaic-assisted systems are based on the direct connection and optional integration of PV and EC devices. [3][4][5][6][7][8][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] The performance of these PV-EC systems depends on the quality of both the EC and PV components, but also on their power coupling and mutual scaling. Both coupling and scaling are crucial inter-related issues for the minimization of energy losses in the PV-EC system and increasing its STH.…”

Efficiency gains for thermally coupled solar hydrogen production in extreme cold

“…For the dual-junction, the STH efficiency initially increases, but then decreases with decreasing outdoor temperature implying that the device only benefits from improved solar-cell performance for moderate temperature decreases. Consequently, considering only a narrow temperature window 22,23 could lead to the unsubstantiated generalisation of a steadily increasing or decreasing efficiency with dropping temperature. Note that this effect is very sensitive to the V OC , its temperature coefficient, and the ohmic resistance of the cell.…”

“…Only considering a subset in the parameter space is probably the reason for apparently contradictory observations in the literature. 14,22 The insulation design of the electrochemical compartments could be further improved with the ongoing development of macroscopic thermal rectifiers that allow heat to transfer preferentially in one direction. 24 Such a rectifier would offer the possibility of creating and maintaining a thermal gradient between the electrochemical compartment and the solar cells, which could increase the efficiency boost for the device.…”

Efficiency Gains for Thermally Coupled Solar Hydrogen Production in Extreme Cold

“…For the double junction, the STH efficiency initially increases, but then decreases with decreasing outdoor temperature implying that the device only benefits from improved solar-cell performance for moderate temperature decreases. Consequently, considering only a narrow temperature window [20,21] could lead to the unsubstantiated generalisation of a steadily increasing or decreasing efficiency with dropping temperature. Note that this effect is very sensitive to the V OC , its temperature coefficient, and the ohmic resistance of the cell.…”

“…This emphasises that these parameters span a multi-dimensional space and therefore must be carefully considered when designing a double-junction device intended to operate at low temperatures. Only considering a subset in the parameter space is probably the reason for apparently contradictory observations in the literature [14,20].…”