X10D project aims to establish efficient tandem organic solar cells

The European FP7 project X10D has been established to bring organic photovoltaic (opv) technologies towards introduction into the thin film pv market. According to imec, current opv technologies are unstable when exposed to ambient environment and the power conversion efficiencies aren't sufficient to be viable alternatives to silicon photovoltaic technologies. The X10D project aims to increase the power conversion efficiency to at least a 12% on cell level (1cm²) and 9% on module level (100cm²). This, says imec, can be achieved by applying new designs and architectures, materials and manufacturing technologies. imec has set its goal to guarantee a minimum of a 20 year lifetime for opv modules on glass and 10 years on foil, as well as decreasing the costs. The X10D project has gathered the available opv knowledge and expertise from universities, research institutes and European companies. imec says it has brought together a 'complete and unique' opv research and development consortium covering both solution processed and small molecule based opv expertise. Segments of the value chain represented in the project include materials development and upscaling; device development and upscaling; large area deposition equipment and processes; novel transparent conductors; laser scribing equipment and processes; encapsulation technologies; energy; lifecycle and cost analysis; and end users. Caption: imec's tandem organic solar cells on glass plates with a power conversion efficiency to 5.15%