Press Release from February 2023
Currently, the EU is heavily dependent on imports of critical raw materials, especially in strategic sectors, such as renewable energy: there is an urgent need to create sustainable and greener value chains in the EU.
November 2022 marked the beginning of the NEXUS project, funded by the European Commission through HORIZON EUROPE Research and Innovation Actions. The project focuses on providing a more secure, clean, and affordable energy supply with the help of high-efficiency perovskite-Silicon tandem photovoltaics modules.
NEXUS’s aim is to develop stable, 2-terminal perovskite-Si tandem solar cells with power conversion efficiencies above 33% (and modules > 30%) whilst following an innovative eco-design approach: employing solvent-free perovskite deposition, abundant and optimized use of materials, circularity, recyclability, improved and simple manufacturing processes, to create a viable economic pathway for the European commercialization of this sustainable technology.
Single junction solar cells are reaching their plateau efficiency whilst the need for solar to decarbonise energy consumption, and space to install solar, to meet climate protection and mitigation laws is growing. At the same time, new solar technologies need to demonstrate they can be made with abundant and sustainable raw materials within the circular economy to meet environmental and sustainability goals.
The core of NEXUS is meeting these challenges with a competitive European PV product, by bringing together research and industry to develop new perovskite-Si tandem cells and demonstrate the scalability into industry of these cells with proof-of-concept equipment. Bringing together 12 countries from across 9 countries in Europe, the project combines the expertise of top-level research and technology organisations with industry partners capable of looking at the whole value chain from innovation to market deployment and policies. Building on demonstrated expertise, the project is a step forwards towards a clean, secure and affordable EU energy supply.
The NEXUS consortium is coordinated by Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (France). It brings together a well-balanced combination of top-EU research institutions such as the University of Oxford (UK), Eurac Research (Italy), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) (Germany), the University of Groningen (Netherlands), the University of Valencia (Spain), and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW (Switzerland); with well-engaged industrial partners such as Oxford PV (UK), Enel Green Power and 3SUN (Italy), SALD BV (Netherlands), Becquerel Institute (Belgium) and NorSun (Norway).
NEXUS started on November 2022 with 12 partners from 9 countries and will run for 36 months.
