23 September 2016
The "PHySIC"- PHotovoltaic with SuperIor Crack Resistance" project proposal within the scope of the ERC Proof of Concept call has been approved by the European Research Council. The project, coordinated by Professor Marco Paggi, will last a year and will receive a grant of 149,500 Euro, with the objective to develop a new technology that will limit the cracking effect of silicon in photovoltaic modules and increase efficiency. The economic impact of this type of damage was estimated at around 180 million Euro per year for losses related to repair work, replacement of the modules and the production of a lower amount of energy than expected. The project will help to further enhance the research results achieved under the "CA2PVM - Multi-field and Multi-scale Computational Approach to Design and Durability of Photovoltaic Modules" ERC Starting Grant project at the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, developing prototypes and promoting the technological transfer necessary for the commercialisation of the newly proposed technological solution.
The ERC Proof of Concept call is aimed at ERC project owners (Starting Grant, Consolidator Grant, Advanced Grant, Synergy Grant) to help enhance the results of their research by developing new commercial and social applications. From 2011 to 2015 a total of 432 projects have been funded, of which 20 in Italian universities and research institutes.