NREL Helps establish perovskite Consortium
US Manufacturing of Advanced Perovskites Consortium (US-MAP) will work to accelerate commercialisation of perovskite technologie.
Working with US solar companies, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Washington Clean Energy Testbeds at the University of Washington, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Toledo have formed the US Manufacturing of Advanced Perovskites Consortium (US-MAP), which will work to accelerate commercialisation of perovskite technologies.
Perovskites have shown promise in a range of technologies including solar energy, solid-state lighting, advanced radiation detection, dynamic sensing and actuation, photo-catalysis, and quantum information science.
"Perovskites have the potential to become a game-changer for solar and many other fields," said Martin Keller, director of NREL. "By combining our research efforts, this new consortium will bring this technology to market sooner than if we were all operating alone."
Manufacturing, durability, and sustainability remain challenges and will be the consortium's research focus. Members of US-MAP will share research and development, validation, and pilot manufacturing, which will reduce development costs and technology risks for potential investors.
US-MAP has six major US-based industry players as founding members: BlueDot Photonics, Energy Materials Corporation, First Solar, Hunt Perovskites Technologies, Swift Solar, and Tandem PV. Representatives from each of these companies, as well as new US startups and other established companies, will form an industry advisory board that will inform and guide the efforts performed at the research institutions.
The founding organisers (NREL, Washington Clean Energy Testbeds, UNC-Chapel Hill, and the University of Toledo) will form the executive board that will oversee delivery on projects.
The organisers and members of US-MAP have already begun expanding this network to include the University of Colorado at Boulder and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
The founding organisers of the US-MAP consortium will explore funding from a variety of sources including industrial members and the federal government. Leadership of the consortium will be provided at NREL by Joseph J. Berry and Jao van de Lagemaat, who will work with the key points of contact of the other founding organisers and industrial advisory board.
"Forming this collective will enable innovation in the US that will strengthen our position in these important materials and associated technologies," said Berry, the consortium director, senior scientist, and perovskite team lead for NREL.
