Universidad Politécnica de Madrid Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

R&D at IES

Novel CPV concepts

 

We are constantly introducing innovations in concentrator photovoltaic systems in order to increase conversion efficiency, reduce costs and develop the full potential of CPV as a low-cost electricity generation technology. Many novel system architectures, optical systems or manufacturing processes have been proposed by our group through the years:

  • Notably, the silicone-on-glass (SOG) Fresnel technology was patented by Prof. Sala in the late 70s, which was later massively adopted by the CPV industry for the large-scale deployment of the technology.

  • In recent years, another hybrid lens architecture, named Achromatic Doublet on Glass (ADG), has been proposed for reducing chromatic aberration losses in refractive concentrators, which allows for a larger geometrical concentration factor while preserving optical efficiency. The new achromatic ADG lens is able of attaining a concentration three times higher than the equivalent SOG Fresnel lens saving the need of a SOE and reducing the system cost.

  • Other innovative optical systems recently investigated include the Fluid Reflex concentrator, based on a single stage reflective optics by means of an optical fluid that additionally improves the light coupling and heat dissipation from the cell.

  • We have also investigated hybrid lighting-CPV systems, a module approach that combines PV energy generation and direct lighting by means of optical fibers to be used on rooftops.

Contact person: Prof. Ignacio Antón

 

 

 



 
Selected publications    
  1. WO2015101626 A1. “Lens having limited chromatic aberration for photovoltaic concentrators and method for manufacturing said lens”

  2. M. Victoria et Al. "Experimental analysis of a photovoltaic concentrator based on a single reflective stage immersed in an optical fluid", Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications 22:12 (2014), p 1213-1225.

  3. R. Núñez et Al. "Development of a full hybrid lighting-CPV prototype and savings in a real case operation", American Institute of Physics Conference Series. Vol. 1616. 2014.

  4. G. Sala and E. Lorenzo. “Hybrid silicone-glass Fresnel lens as concentrator for photovoltaic applications”, 2nd EUPVSEC (1979), Berlin

hiperEnlace volverBack