A Novel High Efficiency Thermal-Electrochemical Device for Hybrid PV/T Systems

ABSTRACT: Energy issues have been at the center of the national security debate and as the largest single consumer of energy in the United States, the DOD recognizes the need to reduce its reliance on fossil fuel. For a number of years, the department has been making steady progress at decreasing its fossil fuel footprint which has seen solar energy and the use of photovoltaic cells emerge as a leading candidate for a potential alternative power source for DOD. One problem is that the photovoltaic efficiency of solar cells is temperature dependent and it decreases with the increasing temperature. There have been several potential solutions to this problem that involve the integration of a thermal energy harvesting units known as PV/T systems that use air cooling or water cooling systems to increase the electrical output of the PV system; however, the net gain is still relatively small. Lynntech Inc together with our partners at the NanoTech Institute at the University of Texas at Dallas have developed a new thermal-electrochemical energy harvesting system that uses the latest advanced in nanotechnology to address many of the key issues related to converting waste heat from large numbers of solar cells directly to electrical energy BENEFIT: In 2009, solar modules capable of producing approximately 3700 MW of energy were manufactured, resulting in about $30 billion worth of installed systems worldwide. At present, the solar cell industry growth rates are 20% to 30% annually. This tendency is expected to last at least for the next 30 years to come. This statement implies that at the installed capacity of solar energy may grow the same way. In 2030, a significant capacity of about 140 GW should be operational around the globe.