Solar panels will accelerate progress towards achieving common green transition goals

NDO - On the morning of December 4, as part of the “Science for Life” Symposia series within the framework of VinFuture Science and Technology Week 2024, the “Materials for a sustainable future” symposium with the participation of the world's leading scientists shared about research and practical applications of sustainable materials, which are considered an important solution in responding to climate change and current resource depletion.

Speaking at the seminar, Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Hai Quan, member of the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Director of Ho Chi Minh City National University shared that people are facing many challenges in life related to sustainable development and technological innovation. Science plays an increasingly important role and not only creates the foundation for science and technology, but also finds sustainable solutions in the context of the energy crisis.

“With the sharing of world-leading experts on pioneering research and breakthrough innovations, the seminar is not only a forum for academic exchange but also a place to generate ideas, solutions, and potential to shape a better future for future generations,” Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Hai Quan shared.

In the development of green energy and materials, renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydropower are increasingly becoming the mainstay in solving the global energy crisis and reducing carbon emissions. Among them, materials for solar cells play a key role.

Solar cells, using advanced materials such as silicon, perovskite and two-dimensional materials, are helping to increase the efficiency of converting solar energy into electricity while reducing production costs. These advances not only increase the accessibility of clean energy but also contribute significantly to environmental protection and sustainable development.

Research and development of new materials for solar cells and sustainable applications is a core element in expanding the application of renewable energy, thereby directly contributing to the world's sustainable development goals.

Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Hai Quan emphasized that the latest research on developing new materials for solar cells is not only a technical challenge but is closely linked to social welfare, environmental protection and economic development.

Therefore, he believes that the seminar will help Vietnamese scientists gain more knowledge, understanding and inspire cooperation and joint efforts on this issue. He also acknowledged the outstanding activities of the VinFuture Foundation in promoting the implementation of common goals on green transformation.

Professor Sir Richard Henry Friend, FRS, Director of Research in the Department of Physics, University of Cambridge (UK).

Professor Sir Richard Henry Friend, FRS, Director of Research at the Department of Physics, University of Cambridge (UK) - one of the world's most influential physicists shared that every year we discharge tons of CO2, therefore, it is necessary to develop a huge amount of renewable energy and related materials, focusing on solar cells.

Also according to Professor Sir Richard Henry Friend, now, with changes in technology, the cost of solar panels has become reasonable and is a necessary tool for humans to achieve a Net Zero economy.

Professor Martin Andrew Green, Professor of Science and Founding Director of the Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics at the University of New South Wales (Australia). His research group has held the record for silicon solar cell efficiency for three of the past four decades, described as one of the “top 10 milestones” in the history of solar photovoltaic technology.

The PERC and TOPCon solar cells he invented in the 1980s and pioneered by his team now account for more than 90% of the world's total silicon solar module production. He has been awarded numerous prestigious international awards, including the 2022 Millennium Technology Prize, the 2023 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, and the 2023 VinFuture Grand Prize.

Professor Martin Andrew Green, Professor of Science and Founding Director of the Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics at the University of New South Wales (Australia).

Discussing “The future direction of silicon in the development of solar energy technology”, Professor Martin Andrew Green emphasized that silicon technology will be a sustainable future material, widely used in solar cells, helping to reduce the cost of this material in the past and in the future.

Sharing a perspective on the importance of materials integration in developing solar energy, Professor Marina Freitag, Professor of Energy and Royal Society Research Fellow at Newcastle University (UK) said that artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating the process of identifying environmentally friendly, high-performance materials. Machine learning models predict material properties and optimize material performance and stability; reduce time and resources in the R&D process, prioritizing the use of sustainable materials.

At the seminar, the Professor also shared about the revolution for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), achieving record efficiency under ambient light conditions, and introduced new concepts such as "zombie photovoltaic cells" based on phenanthroline copper complexes.

According to Professor Seth Marder, Director of the Institute for Renewable and Sustainable Energy, a joint organization between the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU-Boulder) and NREL (USA), shared with Vietnamese scientists about polymer materials.

Professor Seth Marder, Director of the Institute for Renewable and Sustainable Energy, a joint organization between the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU-Boulder) and NREL (USA).

Plastics are and will continue to be a ubiquitous material in the world, and we need high-performance polymers to serve the transition to clean energy, he stressed.

Therefore, we need to make the most of circularity as a design criterion, and we can significantly improve polymer design to accommodate circularity while maintaining performance in many cases. “We need to change both technology and behavior to meet the challenges and opportunities that our use of polymers presents,” emphasizes Professor Seth Marder.

At the seminar, scientists also discussed sustainable materials, renewable materials and especially the role of AI in screening materials that meet initial requirements.

With his practical experience guiding students at the school to apply AI in materials research, Professor Martin Andrew Green said that AI helps students reduce the time spent on simulations, thereby making recommendations for research directions and saving a lot of time searching for different materials. "AI will create shortcuts in our research," Professor Martin Andrew Green said.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/pin-mat-troi-se-thuc-day-tien-trinh-thuc-hien-hoa-cac-muc-tieu-chung-ve-chuyen-doi-xanh-post848405.html