Christophe Ballif wins Becquerel Prize
Director of EPFL Photovoltaics and Thin Film Electronics Lab honoured for heterojunction PV cells
Christophe Ballif, director of EPFL Photovoltaics and Thin Film Electronics Laboratory in Switzerland, has been awarded the 2016 Becquerel Prize for his work on the development of silicon heterojunction solar cells.
The Alexandre Edmond Becquerel Prize was established in 1989 by the European Commission at the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Becquerel's classical experiment in which he discovered the photovoltaic effect.
The decision of the Becquerel Prize Committee is based in particular on the outstanding work of Ballif on silicon thin-film and silicon wafer solar cells and the transfer of PV-technologies to industry. His research on tandem solar cells with a focus on silicon/perovskite and silicon/III-V compounds is highly recognized.
Ballif is one of the pioneers in the development of high efficiency crystalline solar cells with heterojunctions and passivated contacts. His work spans the field from fundamentals to novel manufacturing processes, pilot tools and production lines.
The aim of the Becquerel Prize is to honour scientific, technical or managerial merit in the development of photovoltaic solar energy, attained over a long period of continuous achievements, or very exceptionally, for some extraordinary invention or discovery. It is primarily a European Award but not restricted exclusively to European citizens.
