Over 80 million! Photovoltaic Power Supports the Development of "Space Photovoltaic"

local time, the Office of Key Minerals and Energy Innovation of the U.S. Department of Energy announced the launch of a $12 million (about 80.5332 million yuan, $1 ≈ 6.7111 yuan) support program. In order to accelerate the technological innovation of space photovoltaic modules , enhance the local manufacturing capacity, and help the development and industrialization of the next generation of space photovoltaic technology in the United States.

"The next frontier of solar photovoltaic power generation is space.". With the rapid growth of demand for space photovoltaics, this investment will help the United States establish a leading position in the next generation of space photovoltaics , consolidate the national security foundation and enhance the competitiveness of the United States economy. Audrey Robertson, Assistant Secretary of Energy and head of the Office of Key Minerals and Energy Innovation of the U.S. Department of Energy, said. The funding of the

U.S. Department of Energy mainly focuses on the following two directions:

① Technological innovation of the next generation of space photovoltaic cells, focusing on promoting the development of space-grade photovoltaic cells in the laboratory environment, including the development of high-performance, low-cost, high-reliability space-grade photovoltaic cell technology;

Direction ② Large-scale manufacturing and application demonstration-focus on promoting innovative manufacturing processes that can be mass-produced, complete third-party performance verification of component samples, and carry out actual measurement in space or near space environment.

The U.S. Department of Energy's funding cycle for the above direction projects is up to 3 years . The maximum amount of funding for a single project in the above direction ① can be up to $1.5 million; the maximum amount of funding for a single project in the direction ② can be up to $2 million.

This section encourages the following institutions/enterprises to apply: universities and industrial research laboratories that develop advanced photovoltaic technologies for space applications; research institutions that focus on photovoltaic performance characterization and reliability stress testing; As well as promoting near-commercial, trial production scale space photovoltaic solutions, and enterprise teams with test cooperation resources and space flight verification capabilities.