UNIST is challenging itself to develop a super solar cell with an efficiency of 35% over the next five years, contributing to carbon neutrality and the advancement of the domestic solar power industry.

On the 8th, UNIST was confirmed as the final implementing agency for the Alchemist Project, hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. UNIST beat out Seoul National University and other institutions to be selected as the final project implementer for the renewable energy Alchemist Project, and will receive 10 billion won in support over the next five years.

The research team is challenging the development of a super solar cell with an efficiency of 35%. Tandem technology will be used to develop this cell, which will significantly exceed the theoretical efficiency limit of 30% for commercial silicon solar cells.

Tandem technology is a 1+1 technology that combines perovskite thin-film solar cells on top of silicon solar cells.

For this purpose, researchers from UNIST's Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Professor Song Myung-hoon) and Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering (Professor Yang Chang-deok) gathered together, including Professor Kyung-jin Choi, an expert in silicon solar cells, and Professor Sang-il Seok, a world-renowned scholar in the field of perovskite solar cells.

In addition to developing ultra-high-efficiency super solar cells, the research team will also conduct research to improve long-term stability and price competitiveness, known as the Golden Triangle, the three conditions for commercializing solar cells.

Research includes materials technology, large-area processes, modular component technology, and integrated equipment development. Leading research institutes and companies such as KETI, KIST, Juseong Engineering Co., Ltd., and ENF Technology Co., Ltd. are expected to contribute their efforts.

Professor Kyung-Jin Choi of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at UNIST, who is in charge of the project, said, “Ultra-high-efficiency super solar cells will be an effective strategy to respond to climate change and bring forward the era of carbon neutrality,” and added, “It will also be of great help to the domestic solar power industry, which has lost its leadership due to China’s low-price offensive.”

Professor Seok Sang-il of the Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST said, “UNIST researchers have established themselves as a global leader in the field of perovskite solar cells over the past decade,” adding, “If we make good use of the knowledge we have accumulated so far, developing a super solar cell with an efficiency of 35% is very difficult, but it is worth the challenge.”

Meanwhile, the Alchemist Project, launched in 2019, is a tournament-style technology development project. The final project implementer is selected through a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of the preliminary project implementers selected in the first round. Among the 10 research teams that applied for the renewable energy sector, UNIST, Seoul National University, and Korea University were selected as preliminary implementation organizations for the project and have been conducting preliminary research for the past two years.