February 5, 2008

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO RECEIVES $5 MILLION FOR GLOBALLY SIGNIFICANT SOLAR ENERGY RESEARCH

Today’s announcement represents the second round of funding under the Ontario Research Fund’s Research Excellence program. In this round, the government is providing $23,353,275 to support four world-class projects at the University of Toronto.

Cost Competitive Solar Power

High-efficiency Silicon Photovoltaics

Developing cost-effective silicon solar cells

Lead researcher: Dr. Nazir Kherani
Total project cost: $15,000,000
Provincial funding: $5,000,000

Solar energy is by far the largest potential source of energy for the planet, dwarfing all other sources combined. The key to tapping into this potential is to develop technology that reduces the cost of generating solar power.

Photovoltaics, the direct conversion of solar energy into electricity, is becoming an increasingly important technology in the production of sustainable energy. Silicon-based solar panels are a stable, readily available, efficient and environmentally friendly technology, but their cost remains a stumbling block.

Researchers at the universities of Toronto and Waterloo, together with ARISE Technologies of Waterloo, will concentrate on developing high-efficiency, cost-effective silicon photovoltaic solar cells. The researchers will develop and integrate a set of “thin film” technologies that will lead to a prototype, with the ultimate goal being the creation of a photovoltaic manufacturing base in Ontario.

Key private sector partners: ARISE Technologies

Key facts:

• The rapid growth of photovoltaics (PV) will be driven by the global demand for energy of all kinds, the global challenge of climate change, the renewable features of solar energy and improvements in PV technology and materials.
• This research project aims to transform the manufacturing of silicon photovoltaics — and hence the economic feasibility of solar electricity. It aims to reduce the cost of solar energy by producing the greatest quantity of solar electricity per gram of silicon.
• It also aims to develop a technology suitable for high production rates — through Arise Technologies — helping Ontario become globally competitive in this growing sector.

Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence Program

This second round of funding under the Research Excellence program will invest  $114,709,614 to support 19 world-class projects at nine Ontario universities, institutes and hospitals. Funding will be matched by 107 major industry and other partners participating in the projects.

For more information about the Ontario Research Fund, please visit www.ontario.ca/innovation.

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