Power systems with diverse generation - implications, control and capability. This research will generate a systematic methodology to handle the impact of the renewable energy sources on the NSW power grid. It increases our understanding of the impact of climate change policies relating to mandatory targets for greenhouse gas reduction helping to build Australia’s research capacity in the national priority area of an environmentally sustainable Australia. The anticipated methodology can also be ....Power systems with diverse generation - implications, control and capability. This research will generate a systematic methodology to handle the impact of the renewable energy sources on the NSW power grid. It increases our understanding of the impact of climate change policies relating to mandatory targets for greenhouse gas reduction helping to build Australia’s research capacity in the national priority area of an environmentally sustainable Australia. The anticipated methodology can also be seen as protecting the security of power infrastructure as well. Maintaining a critical energy infrastructure protects our way of life and ensures ongoing social, economic and environmental well being of Australia.Read moreRead less
Advanced Sliver Solar Cells. The expected outcome of the proposed research is the development of second generation Sliver solar cell technology, encouraging large commercial impact, which would be of substantial benefit to Australia in terms of export income and employment. Origin Energy has committed >$60 million to the development and commercialisation of the first generation Sliver cell technology. Substantial further commercial investment is expected during scale-up for full scale manufactur ....Advanced Sliver Solar Cells. The expected outcome of the proposed research is the development of second generation Sliver solar cell technology, encouraging large commercial impact, which would be of substantial benefit to Australia in terms of export income and employment. Origin Energy has committed >$60 million to the development and commercialisation of the first generation Sliver cell technology. Substantial further commercial investment is expected during scale-up for full scale manufacturing.
Successful implementation of technology developed during the research will result in the displacement of fossil fuel technologies and corresponding greenhouse gas emissions reduction, assisting Government in its objective to make major cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.
Read moreRead less
A 60% efficient solar microconcentrator for electricity and hot water. The aim of this project is to develop a microconcentrator for deployment on house roofs that will produce both solar hot water and solar electricity with a combined efficiency above 60%. The system will have a low profile and will be nearly invisible from the street. The system will track the sun. Concentration will be accomplished by a mixture of refraction and reflection. About 20% of the sunlight will be converted to elect ....A 60% efficient solar microconcentrator for electricity and hot water. The aim of this project is to develop a microconcentrator for deployment on house roofs that will produce both solar hot water and solar electricity with a combined efficiency above 60%. The system will have a low profile and will be nearly invisible from the street. The system will track the sun. Concentration will be accomplished by a mixture of refraction and reflection. About 20% of the sunlight will be converted to electricity using lines of tiny solar cells, with the balance being converted to heat which is removed by cooling fluid and stored in hot water tanks.Read moreRead less
Efficient photovoltaic concentrator receivers utilising commercial non-concentrator solar cells. The development of low-cost photovoltaic concentrator systems will allow the large scale depoyment of these systems, both in Australia and overseas. The current size of this market is several hundred MW of electricity per year, and growing rapidly. This will have both environmental benefits (though reduced greenhouse gas emissions)as well as economic and social benefits - through the creation of empo ....Efficient photovoltaic concentrator receivers utilising commercial non-concentrator solar cells. The development of low-cost photovoltaic concentrator systems will allow the large scale depoyment of these systems, both in Australia and overseas. The current size of this market is several hundred MW of electricity per year, and growing rapidly. This will have both environmental benefits (though reduced greenhouse gas emissions)as well as economic and social benefits - through the creation of empoyment opportunities in PV manufacturing and the generation of export earnings. It could be of particular benefit to remote communities requiring reliable, low cost off-grid power generation.Read moreRead less
Overcoming performance limitations in multicrystalline silicon solar cells. This project aims to address the major impediments to improved efficiency of multicrystalline silicon solar cells, the most prevalent in industry today. Three key areas have been identified: understanding the fundamental source of carrier recombination in this material, the application of plasma silicon nitride to reducing this recombination, and developing a suitable technique for texturing the front surface of the cell ....Overcoming performance limitations in multicrystalline silicon solar cells. This project aims to address the major impediments to improved efficiency of multicrystalline silicon solar cells, the most prevalent in industry today. Three key areas have been identified: understanding the fundamental source of carrier recombination in this material, the application of plasma silicon nitride to reducing this recombination, and developing a suitable technique for texturing the front surface of the cells. By using novel, advanced techniques to gain a deeper physical understanding of these issues, it will be possible to develop new, cost-effective processes that improve efficiency and are applicable in industry.Read moreRead less
Space development of the HDLT Australian Plasma Thruster. The collaboration between the ANU research group and ASTRIUM/EADS, the largest European aerospace company, is a unique opportunity for Australia to capitalize on the new discovery of the Helicon Double Layer Thruster made at the ANU. This will allow the Australian space community to stay abreast of international developments in space propulsion and to be with the for-runners of this new technology.
ANU will have direct access to ASTRIUM ....Space development of the HDLT Australian Plasma Thruster. The collaboration between the ANU research group and ASTRIUM/EADS, the largest European aerospace company, is a unique opportunity for Australia to capitalize on the new discovery of the Helicon Double Layer Thruster made at the ANU. This will allow the Australian space community to stay abreast of international developments in space propulsion and to be with the for-runners of this new technology.
ANU will have direct access to ASTRIUM/EADS via the relationships developed in this project putting Australia in the enviable position of being an insider in future space developments concerning plasma thrusters and space technology in general.Read moreRead less
Spray-on Hydrogenated Films for Solar Cells. A successful project will contribute to a reduction in the cost of photovoltaic solar energy. This goal might be reached directly, via the development of spray-on hydrogenated films, or indirectly, through an improved knowledge of hydrogen passivation. Either way, the project will provide Australian Partner Investigator, Spark Solar, with a manufacturing edge over its global competitors. In so doing, it will support the burgeoning photovoltaic industr ....Spray-on Hydrogenated Films for Solar Cells. A successful project will contribute to a reduction in the cost of photovoltaic solar energy. This goal might be reached directly, via the development of spray-on hydrogenated films, or indirectly, through an improved knowledge of hydrogen passivation. Either way, the project will provide Australian Partner Investigator, Spark Solar, with a manufacturing edge over its global competitors. In so doing, it will support the burgeoning photovoltaic industry in Australia, providing jobs in manufacturing and research, and increasing the viability of photovoltaic energy as an alternative to fossil fuels. The project will also help keep Australia at the forefront of advances in photovoltaics and semiconductors.Read moreRead less
Thermodynamics inversion for mineral systems. This project aims to provide a newly developed science approach to the Australian Lithospheric Architecture Magnetotelluric Project (AusLAMP). AusLAMP provides unparalleled geophysical information aimed at unravelling the tectonic history of the Australian continent and its mineral potential. The project will use thermodynamically based geodynamic simulators to jointly analyse and quantify intraplate deformation. This will illuminate the cause of dri ....Thermodynamics inversion for mineral systems. This project aims to provide a newly developed science approach to the Australian Lithospheric Architecture Magnetotelluric Project (AusLAMP). AusLAMP provides unparalleled geophysical information aimed at unravelling the tectonic history of the Australian continent and its mineral potential. The project will use thermodynamically based geodynamic simulators to jointly analyse and quantify intraplate deformation. This will illuminate the cause of driving fluid flow thorough the lithosphere, mineralisation phenomena, their datasets and geometries, and dynamic aspects of the processes driving mineral systems.Read moreRead less
Development of inert gas ion beams for fabrication of nano-structures. This project will develop a high brightness, high density ion beam for reactive fabrication of structures with dimensions of the order of and less than 100 nano-metres. Present systems use liquid metal ion sources which can pollute the substrates being fabricated. Use of inert gas ions will overcome this problem and lead to a new type of ion source to replace the older systems. Added advantages include significantly increased ....Development of inert gas ion beams for fabrication of nano-structures. This project will develop a high brightness, high density ion beam for reactive fabrication of structures with dimensions of the order of and less than 100 nano-metres. Present systems use liquid metal ion sources which can pollute the substrates being fabricated. Use of inert gas ions will overcome this problem and lead to a new type of ion source to replace the older systems. Added advantages include significantly increased lifetime much higher reproducibility. Our commercial collaborator, FEI Company, estimate the world market as being $US100,000,000 and will actively promote this technology worldwide when it is fully developed.Read moreRead less
Stable perovskite-unlocking the full potential of low-cost solar cells. Despite impressive conversion efficiency, the perovskites' poor stability impedes their commercialization. This project aims to develop strategies for stable perovskite solar cells. This will be realized by a thorough understanding of the degradation origins with stimuli, and development of degradation mitigation strategies including materials and interfaces engineering, defect control and passivation, synergized by a system ....Stable perovskite-unlocking the full potential of low-cost solar cells. Despite impressive conversion efficiency, the perovskites' poor stability impedes their commercialization. This project aims to develop strategies for stable perovskite solar cells. This will be realized by a thorough understanding of the degradation origins with stimuli, and development of degradation mitigation strategies including materials and interfaces engineering, defect control and passivation, synergized by a systematic degradation evaluation, state-of-art multi-scale material and device characterizations and device modeling providing feedback for optimization. The project will bring new scientific findings, key technological step-change solutions, unlocking the full potential of perovskites for cheaper photovoltaic technologies.
Read moreRead less