New Project by the DegradationLab team: TRANSMIT– Semi-transparent micro-stripped thin-film photovoltaics for energy-harvesting windows.

A new project contract was signed by the DegradationLab team of the PV Technology Lab, University of Cyprus, this time for the TRANSMIT project, co-funded by the Republic of Cyprus and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the Research and Innovation Foundation (EP/CETP/0922/0059).

Project TRANSMIT, titled “Semi-transparent micro-stripped thin-film photovoltaics for energy-harvesting windows”, will run for 36 months and was funded under the CET Partnership Call of Proposals. The project is being coordinated by the Iberian International Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) in Portugal, while the DegradationLab team of the University of Cyprus is participating as a partner.

This successful funding bid reflects the DegradationLab team’s increasing capability in going after joint funding opportunities for Research and Development (R&D) projects with industry and SMEs , as well as its increased participation in national and international funding bids and the achievement of new collaborations with key research and industrial players, all of which are objectives in their current Horizon Europe project TESTARE.

Stay updated about upcoming activities of the DegradationLab team by following the TESTARE social media.
Website: https://www.testare.eu/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/testareproject
Twitter: https://twitter.com/testareproject
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/testareproject/

TRANSMIT project is co-funded by the Republic of Cyprus and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the Research and Innovation Foundation (EP/CETP/0922/0059). TRANSMIT was funded by CETPartnership, The Clean Energy Transition Partnership under the 2022 joint call for research proposals, co-funded by the European Commission (GA No 101069750) and with the funding organizations detailed on https://cetpartnership.eu/funding-agencies-and-call-modules.

TESTARE participated in the TWIN4MERIT Twinning Project R&I Stakeholders Meeting at the University of Cyprus!

The TESTARE research management team participated in the R&I Stakeholders Meeting organised by the TWIN4MERIT Twinning Project, which took place on 23 January 2024 at University of Cyprus (UCY).

The meeting was focused on one of the objectives of the TWIN4MERIT Project, which is to improve the research landscape of Cyprus in the interdisciplinary field of Management and Economics of Research and Innovation. Additionally, the meeting marked the launch of the Cyprus R&I Managers and Administrators Network, and a crucial discussion was held on the profession, including the role and training needs of R&I Managers and Administrators.

The participation in this meeting by TESTARE was part of the team’s efforts to boost research management and administration for a healthy research ecosystem at UCY, which aligns with the goals of the TWIN4MERIT project.

The first TESTARE Project Scientific Webinar delved into the immense potential of perovskite tandem structures

The first TESTARE Project Scientific Webinar titled “Towards upscaling stable single junction and tandem perovskite modules” was hosted online with great success on 13 December 2023. The webinar included interesting presentations from our partners at imec, who expounded upon innovative device architectures compatible with industry-standard techniques like sputtering, evaporation, and slot die coating, covering areas of up to approximately 800cm².

More broadly, the webinar was an opportunity to delve into the immense potential of perovskite tandem structures when deployed. The tandem approach represents an innovative strategy involving the integration of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with other solar cell technologies. This collaborative fusion of materials aims to capitalize on their unique strengths, fostering a synergy that surpasses the limitations of individual cells and significantly amplifies overall energy conversion efficiency.

The Scientific Webinar concluded with a fruitful Q&A with the webinar participants.

Stay tuned for more: https://www.testare.eu/index.php?page=events

TESTARE is funded by the European Union (Grant agreement number 101079488).

Training on the fabrication of perovskite solar cells and mini-modules at the Thin Film PV Lab at EnergyVille, IMEC

During November and December, Elias Peraticos spent five weeks being trained on the fabrication of perovskite solar cells and mini-modules at the Thin Film PV Lab at EnergyVille, IMEC. The project was funded by the TESTARE and VIPERLAB Projects thus giving access to IMEC’s infrastructure in order to fabricate these mini-modules, under the guidance of the team there, spending their time to teach him different aspects of the process. Some of the steps included annealing, thermal evaporation, sputtering and blade coating, as well as lamination.

In addition to fabrication training an aim of this project was to characterize these modules by carrying out current-voltage (J-V) scans and EQE measurements of cells at IMEC, as well as conducting measurements at the University of Cyprus outdoors, as well as indoors e.g., temperature coefficient measurements under a solar simulator, J-V scans, electroluminescence (EL), photoluminescence (PL), Raman spectroscopy and dark lock-in thermography (DLIT). These techniques will help us further understand the ion dynamics and the metastability effects that have been noticed with previous samples.

The solar mini-modules fabricated during this period will be used for the TESTARE Project (Funded by the EU) for which you can find more information on the webpage https://testare.eu/.

VIPERLAB has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 101006715.

TESTARE is funded by the European Union (Grant agreement number 101079488).

The second TESTARE research-management webinar was successfully delivered by imec.

On the 4th of December 2023, imec successfully hosted the second TESTARE webinar on research management. This seminar focused on transferring best practices on EU project management at different project stages, and on data management within the context of EU projects. Representing the Public R&D Policies programs Group of imec, Veroni Ballet presented on EU Project Management, whilst the R&D Data Manager of imec, Nele Schouteden, presented on Data Management. The webinar ended with a fruitful discussion in the context of the project task 2.7: “Boosting research management and administration skills at UCY”.

Towards accurate and reliable IV and spatially-resolved EL/PL measurements of perovskite mini-modules.

Dr. Vasiliki Paraskeva, University of Cyprus (UCY), participated in a TESTARE project training titled “Towards accurate and reliable IV and spatially-resolved EL/PL measurements of perovskite mini-modules” at the Freiburg Materials Research Center (FMF) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE on 28–29 November 2023.

Dr. Paraskeva attended the training as part of the 3rd scientific exchange and training organised by Fraunhofer ISE, which aimed at the transfer of knowledge and expertise to UCY personnel regarding the accurate and precise IV testing of perovskite-based devices. UCY staff also benefitted from training on spatially resolved Electroluminescence/Photoluminescence (EL/PL) techniques.

The training, delivered by Dr. Clemens Baretzky (FMF) and Dr. Alexander Bett & Dr. Oliver Fischer (Fraunhofer ISE), is tied to the implementation of case studies associated with measurements inter-comparison on EL/PL characterization techniques and on round-robin campaign for IV testing of perovskite-based modules.

Dr. Elias Peraticos Presented the DegradationLab team’s work on Perovskite Photovoltaics at the 40th EU PVSEC 2023

On 19 September 2023, the post-doctoral researcher Elias Peraticos of the DegradationLab team delivered a poster presentation on “Correlative microscopy and spectroscopy of perovskite mini-modules: degradation analysis”, as part of TESTARE networking and dissemination activities, at the 40th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC 2023).

The EU PVSEC is the largest international Conference for Photovoltaic research, technologies, and applications, with the conference's scientific programme coordinated by the European Commission Joint Research Centre. At the same time, the EU PVSEC serves as a PV Industry Exhibition, where specialised PV Industry presents technologies, innovations, and new concepts in the upstream PV sector. In this vein, the global PV community comes together under the auspices of the annual gathering to present and discuss the latest developments in Photovoltaics, as well as to network and conduct business.

This year’s edition of the EU PVSEC, which took place in Lisbon, Portugal, between 18 and 22 September 2023, celebrated the 40-year-long history of the science-to-science and science-to-industry platform that is uniquely focused on the global PV Solar sector.

This work has been financed by the European Union through the TESTARE project (Grant ID: 101079488) and by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the DegradationLab project (Grant ID: INFRASTRUCTURES/1216/0043).

Our participation in the 6th International Conference on Perovskite Solar Cells and Optoelectronics (PSCO-2023)

“Workshop on Industrialization of Perovskite Thin Film Photovoltaic Technology (21 September 2023)”.

Dr. Maria Hadjipanayi from the DegradationLab team of the University of Cyprus participated in the 6th International Conference on Perovskite Solar Cells and Optoelectronics (PSCO-2023) which took place in Oxford, UK from 18th -20th September 2023. As part of TESTARE networking and dissemination activities, Dr. Hadjipanayi delivered a poster presentation of the DegradationLab team’s work on perovskite testing titled “Learning curves from long-term outdoor testing and indoor optoelectronic characterization of perovskite mini-modules”.

The PSCO conference programme included a combination of invited talks, contributing talks and poster presentations in an event which brought a broad spectrum of the perovskite community together to discuss and share knowledge on the latest advances in perovskite materials, devices and photophysical and optoelectronic properties, phenomena, and testing.

Additionally, this year the PSCO was combined with an industry day on the 21st September for interested PSCO and other participants to discuss Industrialization of Photovoltaics Thin Film Technology. Speakers from industry gave updates on the progress made and the challenges faced in this sector. Among them, Dr. Tom Aernouts, partner in TESTARE and representing IMEC/Solliance, presented long-term outdoor results from IMEC perovskite devices tested at the University of Cyprus in his talk ‘Scalable interface modifications to minimize cell to module performance gap’.

This work has been financed by the European Union through the TESTARE project (Grant ID: 101079488) and by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the DegradationLab project (Grant ID: INFRASTRUCTURES/1216/0043).

Great success for the 1st Cypriot PV Workshop, a Joint Event of the “DegradationLab” and “TESTARE” Projects!

The “1st Cypriot PV Workshop: DegradationLab – TESTARE Joint Event”, was successfully held at the University of Cyprus on the 27th of June 2023 with presentations from local and international speakers on the latest trends in Research and Development in Photovoltaics (PVs) in Cyprus and beyond.

Representatives from the local and international scientific community, the industry and enterprises, as well as young researchers and stakeholders in the PV energy sector, joined this hybrid event, gaining a lot of benefits, from opportunities for networking to new knowledge on new-generation PVs. Most importantly, the participants had the unique chance to access the new facilities developed under the “DegradationLab” infrastructure project during an Open Day session!

Organized by the University of Cyprus, this is the 1st Workshop of its kind in Cyprus that provided the participants both with the scientific background in the field of new-generation PV and emerging technologies and the technical background as well as in-field knowledge of the work carried out in the “DegradationLab” project and the research activities of the recently started “TESTARE” project.

The event was a Sustainable Energy Day within the framework of the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW).
We would like to express our sincere thanks to all speakers and participants for joining us!
Stay tuned for our upcoming research activities!

The DegradationLab project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research and Innovation Foundation (INFRASTRUCTURES/1216/0043).
The TESTARE project is funded by the European Union (101079488).

Training on “Strategies for highly efficient and stable perovskite photovoltaics” by IMEC at the University of Cyprus.

On 28 June 2023, Dr. Anurag Krishna from our partner organisation, the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC), visited us at the University of Cyprus and delivered a targeted training on the “Strategies for highly efficient and stable perovskite photovoltaics” to the TESTARE project team.

The training presented an opportunity for the TESTARE Researchers to improve their insight on perovskite PV technology development, which is important when trying to understand stability and field reliability results from perovskite devices.

Participation in the “Researchers at School” Programme in the context of the research project CONNECT

On the 27th and the 28th of April 2023, Dr. Maria Hadjipanayi, coordinator of the “DegradationLab” and “TESTARE” projects, participated in the “Researchers at School” Programme in the context of the research project CONNECT (“Cyprus ON a mission to Engage, inspire and Connect with citizens through the European Researchers' Night”) of the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF). This initiative entailed the implementation of a number of visits by Scientists at schools all over Cyprus for the celebration of World Earth Day 2023!

Dr Hadjipanayi presented the research activities of the DegradationLab team of the PV Technology Lab of the University of Cyprus to the students of Ayios Dometios and Geri Gymnasiums. The students were introduced to the world of research and realized the importance of the scientists’ mission. An insightful presentation was given regarding the research areas of the newly established strategic unit, its infrastructure and the study of new emerging technologies as part of the research activities of the “DegradationLab” and “TESTARE” projects.

Last, an enjoyable and practical demonstration of different photovoltaic technologies was presented with special emphasis on the advantages, disadvantages and prospects whilst there was a short presentation of innovative samples, which are at the forefront of the scientists’ research.

We express our special thanks both to the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation for the organization and to the schools for hosting us!

TESTARE Introductory Visits at imec, Fraunhofer ISE and BGU

The TESTARE consortium has successfully completed a series of introductory visits to the internationally-leading partner locations in order to gain an understanding of the current state of play regarding science, innovation and research management there. The visits took place at the: (i) Energyville campus of IMEC in Genk, Belgium, hosted by Dr Tom Aernouts and Dr Aranzazu Aguirre, 27-28/03/2023, (ii) Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Freiburg, Germany, hosted by Dr Markus Kohlstädt, 30-31/03/2023, and (iii) Sede Boker campus of the Ben Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel, hosted by Prof Eugene Katz, 19-20/04/2023.

TESTARE Press Release

New Project TESTARE Launched: «Twinning for excellence in TEsting new generation PV: Long-term STAbility and field REliability».

A new partnership that brings together four countries, Cyprus, Belgium, Germany and Israel has been launched for the implementation of a new project with the acronym «TESTARE» and entitled «Twinning for excellence in TEsting new generation PV: Long-term STAbility and field REliability». The Coordinator is the DegradationLab, a new research strategic unit of the PV Technology Laboratory which is an integral part of the FOSS Research Centre for Sustainable Energy and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Cyprus.

Participation at Twin2Expand working group for research management skills

Participation of TESTARE team at the Twin2Expand twinning project working group for research management skills which took place on 2nd February 2023 at the University of Cyprus (UCY) Department of Architecture in Nicosia. Five twinning projects coordinated by the UCY, including TESTARE, were presented to the working group in order to stimulate discussion on how to best work together between the projects regarding the aspect of building capacity in research management/support and administration. There was fruitful discussion on challenges and limitations faced by the different researchers/departments at UCY in research management aspects. Also, ideas and suggestions were exchanged for possible joint actions between the projects like joint webinars, joint workshops, etc. This interaction was agreed to continue to be pursued throughout the duration of the twinning projects.

A press release in LinkedIn for this event follows:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/twin2expand_research-capability-twin2expand-activity-7034072196310278145-MOTf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop