A Hybrid Solar Cell and Battery System

Solabat aims to combine photovoltaic cells and electrochemical energy storage systems into a single hybrid device. Fundamentally, SolaBat plans to create a more simplified system of converting and storing solar power. Currently, single systems of photovoltaic cells which are connected together – mostly lead-based batteries and vast amounts of cable – are in use. Solar panels on the roof with a battery in the cellar. This takes up a lot of space, needs frequent maintenance and is not optimally efficient. In Solabat we want to make a battery and solar cell hybrid out of two single systems which is not only able to convert electrical energy but also store it.

In the hybrid system, high-performance materials share their tasks in the solar cell and in the battery. We need materials which reliably fulfill their respective tasks, and which are also electrochemically compatible with other materials, so that they work together in one device. Our team is planning to use eco-friendly materials such as titanates and organic solar cells, so they avoid environmentally harmful materials. Of course, it is essential to know what happens when the materials come into contact with each other. For this reason, the project partner, the Centre for Electron Microscopy, is investigating the underlying fundamental interface effects and reactions.

Financially supported by the FFG.