The contamination of solar modules by dust and sand causes significant yield losses in the increasing use of photovoltaic systems in desert regions. In his doctoral thesis, Dr. Klemens Ilse from the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS researched the causes, analyzed the magnitudes and developed solution strategies. For this he was awarded the Schott AG Materials Prize.
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Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Dubai: New solar parks are emerging in many deserts. However, Pollution of the photovoltaic modules with sand and dust presents a challenge. At Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaic CSP, a process has been developed together with partners to simulate this pollution behavior in the laboratory - an important prerequisite in order to optimize the materials used and thus the yields. For his research on this issue Klemens Ilse from Fraunhofer CSP received the Best Student Paper Award from the IEEE PVSC 44.
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Soiling and Abrasion in Photovoltaics