15-02-2024
With the SolarWay project, Cristina Teixeira, a researcher at NOVA FCT's CENIMAT, has just been awarded the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions postdoctoral fellowship.
This grant is part of an European programme that aims to support the creative and innovative potential of researchers holding a PhD who wish to acquire new skills through advanced training and international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary mobility.
The scientist, who is only 28 years old, now has two years and a budget of 150,000 euros to develop this project focussed on perovskite solar cells. Perovskite, a semiconductor mineral synthesised in the laboratory, stands out for its ability to convert light into electricity in a highly efficient way. In addition, these photovoltaic devices have significant advantages, such as the possibility of being extremely thin, flexible, and produced in various colours, transparencies and designs through simple manufacturing processes such as printing. However, this technology still withstands some challenges in making large-scale production feasible.
The SolarWay project aims to overcome these challenges by integrating photonic structures to increase light capture and photogenerated current in perovskite solar cells with carbon electrodes. It also includes the optimisation of techniques for scale-up, module manufacture and encapsulation. In this way, the young researcher aims to contribute to the transition of this innovative technology to the industrialisation phase, promoting a more sustainable and energy-independent future.
