To continue to follow the long-term learning curve of ca. 0.5%absolute per year for industrial silicon solar cells, innovation is needed to allow for conversion efficiencies beyond its physical limit of 29.4%. Multi-junction solar cells that encompass silicon and perovskite subcells offer a very promising option to continue the needed efficiency increase for industrial solar cells for the next decades. The scope of this project thus is the development of a highly efficient but simple and resource-saving Si subcell for a 2-terminal perovskite/Si tandem solar cell. The subcell to be developed within this project encompasses the recombination contact as well as the hole contact layer, which represents the transition from the Si to the perovskite cell. The Si subcell utilizes both sides passivating contacts based on poly-Si/SiOx, which have a passivation performance such that it allows for the highest efficiencies. In addition to the increase in efficiency and the resulting cost benefits, the topic of sustainability will also be directly addressed in the project. “Cast mono” silicon wafers, which are a low CO2 silicon base material will be investigated as an alternative for the standard Czochralski (Cz) silicon wafers for the fabrication of the silicon bottom cell. Furthermore, particular attention will be given to the application of contact layers such as the recombination junction and the hole transport layer, that do not contain rare elements such as Indium.

FastLane targets a full, highly competitive and sustainable European value chain for Silicon Carbide (SiC) based power electronics. The goal is to provide a competitive technology excellence from engineered SiC substrates to novel devices, smart power modules and converters to broadened automotive and industrial applications. The next generation of SiC materials will be developed by improved quality of the crystalline starting material, material re-use and acceleration of substrate EU-based manufacturing. Based on the new materials the next generation SiC MOSFET power devices will be developed overcoming current limitations regarding efficiency, performance, robustness and sustainability and will integrate also new on-chip sensing technology. Power modules based on the devices will be further improved by several innovations, e.g. advanced sintering which will lead to improved power module reliability and therefore better sustainability. On component level, highly efficient and reliable inverters for automotive and industrial applications will be developed, including a variety of innovations in detail. In all steps, an improvement of SiC material characterization methodologies will increase the quality and the output of EU based semiconductors. Overall, performance and reliability are expected to increase greatly in all steps. These developments will lead to an overall reduction of cost and, by reduction of the footprint (lifetime increase, CO2 decrease, water consumption decrease), to a greener economy. With the envisioned goals, FastLane will decrease the environmental footprint all along the product lifecycle and contribute to the European Green Deal and ensure a sustainable European sovereignty in power electronics. Cost benefits for the end user will be achieved by the reuse of the automotive economy of scale. With these steps, FastLane contributes to the European societal goals and a greener economy.

The main vision of CABRISS project is to develop a circular economy mainly for the photovoltaic, but also for electronic and glass industry. It will consist in the implementation of: (i) recycling technologies to recover In, Ag and Si for the sustainable PV technology and other applications; (ii) a solar cell processing roadmap, which will use Si waste for the high throughput, cost-effective manufacturing of hybrid Si based solar cells and will demonstrate the possibility for the re-usability and recyclability at the end of life of key PV materials. The developed Si solar cells will have the specificity to have a low environmental impact by the implementation of low carbon footprint technologies and as a consequence, the technology will present a low energy payback (about 1 year). The originality of the project relates to the cross-sectorial approach associating together different sectors like the Powder Metallurgy (fabrication of Si powder based low cost substrate), the PV industry (innovative PV Cells) and the industry of recycling (hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy) with a common aim : make use of recycled waste materials (Si, In and Ag). CABRISS focuses mainly on a photovoltaic production value chain, thus demonstrating the cross-sectorial industrial symbiosis with closed-loop processes.