Funding will be made available under the department’s SunShot initiative and will aim to increase the efficiencies of various materials employed in solar power generation leading to increased yields.
Termed, the Foundational Program to Advance Cell Efficiency (FPACEII), the initiative is in its second installment following an earlier funding in September 2011.
The funds will be employed to accelerate conversion efficiencies in silicon-based technologies and thin-film materials such as cadmium telluride and cooper indium gallium diselenide.
FPACEII will seek proposals from national laboratories, universities, and industry players to develop materials model systems and fabricate prototype devices.
Reduced costs to develop solar power, drive the development of advanced, low-cost PV modules, and furthering the country’s leadership in the global solar market are some of the envisaged goals of the initiative.
