Solar and Photovoltaics Engineering Research Center

Introduction


Center Director

  • Ghassan Jabbour
    Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering

Vision

The Solar and Alternative Energy Engineering Research Center will become a leading institute in renewable energy science and engineering and will provide the foundation for innovation in efficient and low-cost disruptive photovoltaic (PV) foundational technologies.

Mission

The Center’s mission is to have a direct impact not only on the science and engineering discoveries in the area of renewable energy, but also on preparing the future workforce in this exciting field. According to a recent report by the United Nations Environment Program, alternative energy employment is projected to rise noticeably in the renewable energy sector - more than eight million jobs will be created by 2030. Our mission also will involve an active engagement with local and non-local communities in the Kingdom in order to raise the awareness about benefits of alternative energy to the quality of life and economy in the Kingdom, and the world. The mission will be accomplished by adopting an aggressive Center outreach plan as detailed below.

 

Center Objectives and Approaches

Outreach Plan
The Center will actively contribute to student education to make it one of the most rewarding and unique of its kind. The Center outreach plan is multifaceted and involves a direct contribution and benefits to: KAUST student education, continuing education courses, alternative energy awareness for decision makers and community, active engagement with industry and technology development, and outreach to the community.

I. KAUST Student Education:

  • Provide fundamental knowledge, hands-on training, and entrepreneurship in renewable energy science and engineering principles, and to equip the future workforce with the proper tools to enable the development of disruptive alternative energy technologies.
  • Provide a team-oriented, strong interdisciplinary approach: seamless interactions among scientists, engineers, system designers, and technologists.
  • Initiate a national and international co-op program with leading programs at universities and industry.
  • Implement an active international exchange program to enrich the cross-fertilization of ideas and speed up the discovery process.
  • Collaborate closely with KAUST academic and industrial partners in areas relevant to the Center goals.

II. Continuing Education Courses:

  • Provide continuing education courses for engineers and scientists already in the workforce.
  • Develop Internet-based courses on alternative energy that can be accessed world-wide.

III. Alternative Energy Awareness for Decision Makers and Community:

  • Hold overview workshops for decision makers and executives in industry, government, and universities.
  • Link industry and society to accelerate acceptance and adoption of new technologies.

IV. Active Engagement with Industry and Technology Development:

  • Build a strong network with local and global industry in renewable energy.
  • Transfer of technology development and relevant research outcome to Industrial Partners in order to contribute to the progress of the technology development in the field, and in turn to the local and global economies.

V. Outreach to the Community:

Solar Photovoltaic Engineering Research Center Diagram

  • Plant the Science and Engineering (S&E) seed: Actively engage the Center in giving seminars and demonstrations at schools in the local community and around the Kingdom.
  • Indirect student outreach: The Center will host school teachers at all levels for simple hands-on training in renewable and alternative energy.
  • Direct student outreach: The Center will host selected number of students from schools in the community for a hands-on experience in state-of-the-art research in alternative energy.
  • Initiate KAUST (K-12) Science and Engineering Competition in Alternative Energy: This will be a yearly event with selected winners from around the Kingdom showcasing their ideas. The final four winners will be acknowledged with an award from KAUST, and various sources recruited to support such important event.

Center Strategic Framework
The Center strategic framework will consist of addressing fundamental materials, device and processing problems, and how to achieve reliable devices. One critical aspect of this framework will be to work with industry to demonstrate end-use systems. Such an integrative approach provides the necessary and sufficient tools for preparing a better equipped and innovative future workforce. It will also allow for the creation of intellectual properties at all levels, and the conception of new products. Most importantly, such framework allows the students to acquire a lasting education that propels them into a successful career.

 

Multidisciplinary Areas of R&D Focus

Solar Photovoltaic Engineering Research Center Diagram

Research Areas
In order to achieve the Solar Photovoltaic Engineering Research Center’s vision and goal of developing highly-efficient solar cells at low cost, we will implement a multidisciplinary approach that integrates many scientists and engineers with complementary skills, and strongly shared interest to work in a team setting to solve these challenging but highly-rewarding tasks. The Center will start with a heavy focus on solar energy and expand in the future years to encompass areas such as energy storage, wind energy, and geothermal energy. In realizing our vision, the research team will consist of the following working groups:

  • Materials Chemistry and Engineering: In this working group, chemists and materials scientists will collaborate on developing the needed materials with the required optical and electrical properties to allow successful fabrication of efficient devices. In rationally designing the materials, the team will rely on integrating both the synthetic routes along with quantum simulations and modeling to fine tune and optimize the materials properties. Closed feedback of information between this group and the device physicists and engineers will allow for best optimization to be reached in minimum time frames. Several classes of materials will be targeted, including nanoparticles, quantum dots, molecular and polymeric materials, and hybrids. The materials will further be modified to yield themselves to low-cost processing techniques such as printing. The team will also be working closely with the Device Physics and Processing working group to develop novel transparent conductors and the necessary materials approaches needed for reliable encapsulation of solar cells.

    • Solar Photovoltaic Engineering Research Center Diagram

  • Device Physics and Processing: This working group will consist of electrical and processing engineers, physicists, and materials scientists, who closely study the optical and electrical properties of the materials made at the Center, and by our external collaborators, to determine how to best integrate them to yield the most efficient devices. Factors affecting device lifetime and reliability will also be addressed by this working group. Processing techniques such as vacuum, reactive deposition, and liquid-based approaches will be used, with strong emphasis on understanding the materials and device requirements for high-throughput processing such as printing. Device measurements will be carried on both small and relatively larger device areas using calibrated solar testing resources. Measurements will also be certified independently by internationally known laboratories in the U.S. and Europe.

 

Leveraged International Research by Partnership

Solar Photovoltaic Engineering Research Center Diagram

Leveraging Leading International Partnerships: In achieving its vision, and further strengthening its mission, the Solar Photovoltaic Engineering Research Center will establish close ties with partnership programs sponsored by KAUST at various leading institutions. This global partnership includes but is not limited to the Global Research Partnership’s Centers and Centers in Development, and KAUST Investigators. In an effort to have wider representation and best complement our vision, the Center will expand this network to involve other research partners from academia, national laboratories, and industry, worldwide.

KAUST Academic Excellence Alliance

KAUST Global Research Partnership

 

Facilities and Equipment

The success of the Center will be expedited and supported by the above-mentioned resources as well as Center-based state-of-art laboratories involving materials synthesis, device fabrication, measurements and characterization, and laser spectroscopy facilities.