PVSAT-16 Postponed

Due to the current global pandemic, the organising committee have made the decision to postpone PVSAT-16 until 2022.

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A Word from the Chair

As Chair of the PVSAT Conference Organising Committee, it is my duty to inform you that the Committee has taken the unanimous decision to hold the next the PVSAT conference in the first quarter of 2022. Initially, the conference was planned for April 2020, then due to the covid-19 outbreak we postponed the conference to September 2020. With cases still high we agreed to then postpone it until April 2021. We hoped that the levels of coronavirus in the community would be low enough to enable us to run the conference at Salford University safely by this date. However, currently levels are still at a point where the Committee has concerns. As a result, we have taken the difficult decision to not hold a PVSAT conference in 2020 or in 2021. We appreciate this may be disappointing to those who have kindly submitted an abstract into the conference and to those who have been successful in securing oral or poster presentations.

Towards the end of 2021 we plan to open up a new call for abstracts as we appreciate that a large number of those who have previously submitted their abstracts into the PVSAT-16 review process are PhD students who by 2022 may have finished their studies. As a result we plan to hold a number of webinar throughout 2021 where we will invite those PhD students to present their work over a webinar system such as Zoom. The organising committee will start working in the New Year to identify those who may struggle to attend in 2022 and offer them the opportunity to present virtually soon. If you feel that you are one of these students, then please do contact us and let us know if you’re happy to present an oral presentation virtually.

Thank you all for your continued support for PVSAT and, from all the Committee, we wish you a very happy festive period and a safe and productive New Year.

Dr. Alex Cole, PVSAT-16 Conference Chair

December 2020

About PVSAT

The Photovoltaics Science, Applications and Technology (PVSAT) Conference is a 3-day event organised annually by the UK division of the International Solar Energy Society (UK-ISES). It is the UK’s premier scientific event for solar photovoltaics (PV) where the latest advances in research and development are presented and discussed. PVSAT conferences address all PV technologies including crystalline silicon, inorganic thin film, multi-junction concentrators, perovskites and emerging organic and hybrid cells, together with installation, performance monitoring, durability and energy and environmental impacts. The conference includes an industry exhibition and each year, the programme features talks by several invited speakers from world-leading institutions in PV. Join us to learn about and contribute to recent advances in photovoltaic research and development whilst connecting with the vibrant UK solar energy community.

PVSAT-16 Venue

Salford University has a long history of applied science and technology research dating back to the 19th century thriving textile industry, and for its close collaboration with industry. Its alumni include the artist L.S. Lowry, whose work is displayed at The Lowry Art Gallery where the conference dinner will take place. From the nearby former home of prominent physicist James Prescott Joule to the modern day ‘Energy house’, which is the only fully climate-controlled research facility in the world, the energy theme has long been present. Salford was also active in the development of CuInSe2 based PV cells through to current research on photovoltaics, quantum memory devices and hydrogen storage

On-campus accommodation is not available. The University of Salford has provided accommodation at an external hotel with special rates for the deligates of PVSAT-16. This can be found at the following link: book.passkey.com/e/50039082.

Invited Speakers

Here is a look at this year's invited speakers

Dr. Heather Yates

University of Salford

My research involves chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of both III-V semiconductors and various oxides (or metals). The atmospheric-pressure CVD systems employ thermal, flame and plasma technologies, and multiple precursor delivery technologies including flash evaporation and aerosol. These are all capable of scale-up and integration into industrial processes. They are used for producing tailored thin film coatings with added value functional properties. CVD technology can be adapted to meet a range of nanostructured coating and surface structures which include abrasion resistant, biocidal, conductive, anti-reflection, thermochromic and hydrophobic materials. One particular use is for increased solar cell efficiency via design of CVD equipment and optimisation of the layers which make up the cells.

Dr. Marcel Placidi

IREC

Marcel Placidi is a “Raman y Cajal” (Spanish grant) researcher (RYC-2017-23758) at Solar Energy Materials and Systems Laboratory at the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC). He is an expert on thin film technology processing for advanced photovoltaics. He was awarded with a “Formacion Postdoctoral” (FPDI-2013-18968) Scholarship in 2013, has supervised several researchers, has being involved in more than 15 research projects funded by various public and private agencies, is PI of several National and European projects and has over 80 publications.

Dr. Ziv Hameiri

UNSW

Ziv Hameiri received his Bachelors of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel in 2005 (Graduated Summa Cum Laude). He was awarded his PhD by the University of New South Wales (School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering) in March 2011 for a thesis entitled Laser-Doped Selective Emitter and Local Back Surface Field Solar Cells with Rear Passivation. He was a Research Fellow at the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore between 2011 and 2014, where his research focused on characterisation of silicon wafers and solar cells using photoluminescence and on development of high-efficiency industrial solar cells.

Dr. William Swan

Energy House Laboratories

I am currently the Director of Energy House Laboratories, leading all the energy and buildings work in the University of Salford. This is currently a team of 16 people and growing and covers in the following areas: Energy House, Smart Meters Smart Homes Lab, Thermal Lab, Fieldwork Team, Modelling, data Analytics and Building Performance. We are industry focused and have a wide portfolio of commercial partners, as well as working with regional and national government. In addition we have a high profile in the media and have presented our work on the BBC, Sky News, Reuters, and MSNBC, as well as national radio and press.

Dr. Shahzada Ahmad

University of Basque Country

Shahzada Ahmad is Ikerbasque professor; his scientific interests include materials for energy applications. He obtained his PhD degree in the field of materials science and moved to the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, to work on surfaces and interfaces by scanning probe microscopy. At EPFL, he developed nanoporous films for metal-free electro-catalysis and new redox shuttles. From 2012 to 2017 he was the program director at Abengoa Research, a corporate research center. His scientific publications list reflects his diverse field of interest in the domain of physical chemistry, nanotechnology and materials science with a research mission to develop advanced materials for energy application. His work has led to the invitation to speak at many scientific or policy based conferences, inventor of patents, European research council consolidator grant (2016) awardee, Royal Academy of Engineering medal and is cohort of distinguished scientist by World Economic forum.

Bursaries

EPSRC Supersolar Network Bursaries

A total of 10 postgraduate student bursaries are available. In the initial allocation, bursaries will be limited to one per institution. The Postgraduate Student Bursary is provided from the EPSRC SuperSolar Network and will only be used to meet the cost of the PVSAT-16 student delegate conference registration fee and National Student Membership of the Solar Energy Society for 2020.

No funds are granted to meet travel, accommodation or subsistence costs which remain the responsibility of the student in receipt of the bursary.

Successful applicants and the academic supervisor will be notified in writing. Please return the bursary application form, once completed, either by emailing it to info@uk-ises.org or by posting it to the following address:

Prof. Michael G Hutchins
The Solar Energy Society
PO Box 489
Abingdon
OX14 4WY

The EPSRC SuperSolar Network acts as a knowledge exchange mechanism. It maintains the co-ordinated network for the Photovoltaics (PV) research community in the UK. It includes all solar technologies from fundamental research through to module engineering, champions the role of solar in the overall energy mix and engages all stakeholders in industry, government and finance. It involves academics from 10 universities and six partners, four of which are from industry. The SuperSolar Network is led by Professor Michael Walls, Loughborough University. More info can be found on their website at www.supersolar-hub.org.

Travel Bursaries

If you are a member or student member of the RSC, Travel Bursaries to attend scientific meeting are available form the RSC Energy Sector Interest Group who are sponsoring PVSAT-16. Full details are available from www.rsc.org/energysector under the section called Knowledge-Exchange Bursary Scheme (KEBS).

Sponsors and Exhibitors

Sponsors

The PVSAT conference series has been running since 2003 and attracts around 100-140 delegates each year. The delegates are mainly from UK academia but UK companies are also represented. Invited speakers are high calibre researchers from Universities, Companies and Research Institutes worldwide. An industry exhibition is integrated into the conference format. Sponsors will be offered space for display within the Exhibition Forum. The next PVSAT conference will be held at the University of Salford, Manchester in 2022.

Opportunities exist for named sponsorship of individual elements of the conference, e.g. prizes and awards, welcome and awards dinner receptions, coffee breaks, awards dinner, proceedings, etc.

Companies and organisations interested in sponsorship of PVSAT should contact the Solar Energy Society Secretariat for further information.

Exhibitors

The PVSAT-16 conference will be held in the Chapman Building of the University of Salford, in 2022. The Chapman Building is located on the main university campus and provides an environment for the conference sessions, the exhibition and poster areas. To date, we have again secured sponsorship the EPSRC Supergen SuperSolar Network, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institute of Physics.

We expect attendance numbers to be in excess of 100 delegates. We are offering a discounted Exhibitor registration fee of £960.00 (£800.00 + VAT) for registration and payment before 1st December 2021. Please complete and return the PVSAT-16 exhibitor registration form to the Secretariat.

Please contact us directly here at the Secretariat for any further information you may require at this time. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Prof. Michael G Hutchins
The Solar Energy Society
PO Box 489
Abingdon
OX14 4WY