„UMSICHT“ science award goes to a Dresden scientist for Organic Solar Cells
Jan Meiß developed transparent organic solar cells with high efficiency
On 4th July 2012 the UMSICHT scientific award 2012 was awarded to the scientist Jan Meiß for his dissertation „New Material Concepts for Organic Solar Cells“. The award was presented to him in Oberhausen by Prof. Dr. med. Dietrich Grönemeyer, Chairman of the Wissenschaftsforum Ruhr e.V., who acted as patron of the Friends of Fraunhofer UMSICHT association. The prize was awarded for the 3rd time.
During his PhD studies at the Institut für Angewandte Photophysik (IAPP) at the Technische Universität Dresden Jan Meiß developed new concepts for organic solar cells in cooperation with Heliatek GmbH and Fraunhofer COMEDD. The 31-year-old scientist worked especially on transparent electrical contacts and the increase of their efficiency. He developed resource-saving, low-cost and easily processable alternatives to conventional conductive layers through the replacement of indium tin oxide by nanolayers of silver and aluminium. The special clou is the following: by using these layers he was in able to fabricate transparent solar cells which were about four times more efficient than conventional transparent organic solar cells.
According to the judging panel, especially the degree of innovation, the scientific level and thematic focus of Jan Meiß´ dissertation gave him a lead over the other excellent papers.
Organic solar cells can easily be implemented into portable systems and thus can deliver on-site power for mobile devices like mobile phones or laptops at any time. They are lightweight because they are processed on plastic foils. Therefore, they even could be integrated into the face of a building or into car roofs. Organic materials are hydrocarbon-based dyes, some of which are well known e.g. as food colorants or car finish in everyday life. Because of the simple processing methods and the use of absundant, carbon-based organic materials, organic solar cells are much more cost-efficient compared to conventional solar cells.
Innovative action and thinking as well as the cooperation of close to market research and industry are the concepts which the UMSICHT science award wants to push on. Awarded by the Friends of the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT this prize, which carries a value of 15,000 euros, provides not only an incentive for scientists, but also for journalists.
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