CRANN, the Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices, at Trinity College Dublin recently announced a newly created research collaboration with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST, Saudi Arabia) which has the potential of solving some of the technological issues on the path towards massive solar energy production. 

The project, sponsored by KAUST, is worth €1 million and will involve two senior researchers and three PhD students both at KAUST and Trinity College, and it will avail of the computational power of the KAUST supercomputer, Sasheen.

The total solar energy absorbed on earth in one year is double that which will ever be extracted from all non-renewable sources combined (petrol, natural gas, nuclear etc.).  One hour of solar irradiation surpasses the world’s current annual energy consumption.  CRANN and KAUST are exploring how to efficiently harvest these enormous amounts of energy in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.

Ambassador of Saudi Arabia, H.E. Ambassador Abdulaziz Aldriss, said: “The collaboration between KAUST and CRANN is a further testament of the established and strengthened links between universities and research institutes in Saudi Arabia and Ireland and I would like to pay tribute to all those instrumental in establishing this ambitious partnership in the interest of delivering world leading research and innovation.  I think we can all look forward to the developments and ultimate outcome of this particular collaborative research on Solar Energy Conversion between KAUST and CRANN and indeed, future opportunities for student exchange and collaboration between our two countries.”

The joint project aims at understanding the fundamental limitations of solar energy conversion, paving the way for a new generation of photovoltaic devices, more efficient and cheaper than those currently available.  The computational tools developed in Professor Sanvito's group at CRANN are in fact so versatile that a much broader range of devices can be simulated, including photovoltaic cells, novel bio-sensors and chemical sensors.

CRANN was established in 2004 and is a Science Foundation Ireland funded nanoscience research institute based at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.  Nanoscience is a research discipline which underpins key innovations in many sectors.  CRANN, with over 250 researchers, carries out research in partnership with over 60 companies and universities from over 30 countries around the world.

Source: http://www.tcd.ie