Grid-connected polymer solar panels: initial considerations of cost, lifetime, and practicality

Andrew J Medford,Jan Fyenbo,Dennis Aarø,Frederik C Krebs,Mikkel Jørgensen,Heinz Pakalski,Mathilde R Lilliedal

doi:10.1364/oe.18.00a272

Abstract

Large solar panels were constructed from polymer solar cell modules prepared using full roll-to-roll (R2R) manufacture based on the previously published ProcessOne. The individual flexible polymer solar modules comprising multiple serially connected single cell stripes were joined electrically and laminated between a 4 mm tempered glass window and black Tetlar foil using two sheets of 0.5 mm thick ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). The panels produced up to 8 W with solar irradiance of ~960 Wm⁻², and had outer dimensions of 1 m x 1.7 m with active areas up to 9180 cm². Panels were mounted on a tracking station and their output was grid connected between testing. Several generations of polymer solar cells and panel constructions were tested in this context to optimize the production of polymer solar panels. Cells lacking a R2R barrier layer were found to degrade due to diffusion of oxygen after less than a month, while R2R encapsulated cells showed around 50% degradation after 6 months but suffered from poor performance due to de-lamination during panel production. A third generation of panels with various barrier layers was produced to optimize the choice of barrier foil and it was found that the inclusion of a thin protective foil between the cell and the barrier foil is critical. The findings provide a preliminary foundation for the production and optimization of large-area polymer solar panels and also enabled a cost analysis of solar panels based on polymer solar cells.

Highlights

The findings provide a preliminary foundation for the production and optimization of large-area polymer solar panels and enabled a cost analysis of solar panels based on polymer solar cells
Large-area solar panels were fabricated from polymer solar cells and connected to the grid for the first time
It was found that the choice of layer structure used to encapsulate the flexible polymer solar modules was the most critical parameter in preserving performance upon panel fabrication, and plays a key role in panel stability

Summary

Introduction

Polymer solar cell technology [1,2,3,4,5,6,7] has evolved from a level where large laboratory scale devices could be manufactured [8,9,10,11,12] to its current stage where industrial manufacture in large volume using roll-to-roll (R2R) processing methods is possible [13,14,15,16,17,18]. There is an interest in establishing the requirements for polymer solar cells to become suitable for grid connected applications such that future research may drive the technology towards this goal. In this work we detail our experience with the manufacture of large-area polymer solar panels using standard encapsulation techniques currently used for crystalline silicon based photovoltaics. We describe experiences with grid connection and fabrication of the polymer solar panels and report their stability in an outdoor environment

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion