Project Name: Defect Kinetics and Control for Module Reliability
Funding Opportunity: PVRD
SunShot Subprogram: Photovoltaics
Location: Tempe, AZ
SunShot Award Amount: $862,000
Awardee Cost Share: $100,000
Project Investigator: Mariana Bertoni
This project is improving photovoltaic (PV) module reliability by developing a model to predict silicon module degradation. Once finalized, the modeling tool will evaluate the effects of sodium-induced degradation on materials in different operating conditions. The model will be able to evaluate the impact of a variety of contaminants, including potassium, though sodium is widely known to be responsible for major potential-induced degradation losses. The goal is to assist the selection and engineering of better encapsulation materials, dielectrics, contacting schemes, and device architectures based on the reliable performance of the device.
APPROACH
The research team is working to quantify sodium diffusion through individual layers of a module as well as the impact it has on the overall module. The team will develop a defect-device-degradation model that will be evaluated on mini-modules in a laboratory. To evaluate the model, a set of samples will be characterized at each step to extract the parameter of interest, which will then be used to evaluate the predictive quality of each component of the model.
INNOVATION
By developing a model to assess and quantify degradation in silicon PV modules, this project will enable degradation rates to drop from 0.8% a year to just 0.2% a year. This reduction will help to meet the SunShot 2030 goals of reaching utility-scale solar power at $0.03 per kilowatt hour.