Four research projects led by scholars at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) received grants worth HK$20.26 million in total from the inaugural Green Tech Fund under the Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong SAR Government. One of them is led by Professor Alex Kwan-yue Jen from the Department of Chemistry.
Professor Alex Kwan-yue Jen: Developing Printable Perovskite Solar Cells for Clean Energy and Sustainable Society
The project led by Professor Alex Kwan-yue Jen, Director of Hong Kong Institute for Clean Energy and Lee Shau Kee Chair Professor of Materials Science, received funding worth HK$5.03 million. His team will develop highly efficient printable perovskite solar cells (PSCs) to help scale up the renewable energy in an urban environment and improve the energy efficiency performance of small-scale grid-connected PV systems installed on rooftops of residential buildings. It will help Hong Kong to become a leading city in developing technologies for solar energy.
Professor Jen’s team consists of top perovskite scientists and experts in printable PSCs. “Currently, more than 85% of energy in the world comes from non-renewable sources. Scientists should therefore bear the responsibility of developing new materials and technologies that will provide highly efficient and sustainable clean energy,” said Professor Jen.
By developing perovskite as an appropriate “ink” for printing films directly on crystalline silicon solar cells, the team aims to produce high-performance perovskite and crystalline silicon tandem solar cells with 30% higher power conversion efficiency than conventional silicon cell. This technology can enhance the efficiency of photovoltaic systems installed on rooftops. In addition, the team will develop semi-transparent PSCs that can be used as solar windows for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV).
Established with an allocation of HK$200 million from the Government’s 2020/21 budget, Green Tech Fund aims to boost the research development and applications of decarbonisation and green technologies. Addressing issues on decarbonisation, energy efficiency, green transport and air quality, CityU joined with local industries and government departments to expedite low-carbon transformation in Hong Kong.
This research article originated from CityU Research Stories.