NYU Tandon’s André Taylor receives DOE Solar Energy Technology Office Award
BROOKLYN, New York, Thursday, May 5, 2022 – André Taylor, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering was selected to receive a $300,000 award from the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) to advance solar photovoltaics research and development to help eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector.
Taylor’s project, “Passivated and Conductive Back Contacts for Bifacial Cadmium-Telluride PV,” will generate novel approaches to fabricating next-generation cadmium-telluride (CdTe) solar cells using two-dimensional nanomaterials that are highly conductive and can be used as transparent contacts. The process will enable the use of low-cost processing techniques, like spray-coating and slot-die coating; their tunable surface properties could lead to higher-efficiency CdTe PV.
“Among the industry problems this work addresses is the issue of the back contact, which affects performance. The question is, how do you find a material with ideal performance with CdTe systems. We think these 2D nanomaterials confer that kind of performance,” said Taylor.
He added that the novel element of his work will be the use of these nanomaterials in concert with CdTe. “We have been working on both the techniques and materials to extend this work,” he said.
Taylor was selected as a part of the SETO Fiscal Year 2021 Photovoltaics (PV) and Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power funding program, an effort to advance solar energy research and development to find innovative solutions that will enable a decarbonized electricity system by 2035 and a 100% clean energy economy with net-zero emissions by 2050. [Awardee name] is one of several projects that will lengthen the useful life of PV systems to 50 years and to research new and emerging ideas in PV that can deliver significant results in one year.
About the Solar Energy Technologies Office
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office supports early-stage research and development to improve the affordability, reliability, and domestic benefit of solar technologies on the grid. Learn more at energy.gov/solar-office.
About the New York University Tandon School of Engineering
The NYU Tandon School of Engineering dates to 1854, the founding date for both the New York University School of Civil Engineering and Architecture and the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute. A January 2014 merger created a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences as part of a global university, with close connections to engineering programs at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai. NYU Tandon is rooted in a vibrant tradition of entrepreneurship, intellectual curiosity, and innovative solutions to humanity’s most pressing global challenges. Research at Tandon focuses on vital intersections between communications/IT, cybersecurity, and data science/AI/robotics systems and tools and critical areas of society that they influence, including emerging media, health, sustainability, and urban living. We believe diversity is integral to excellence, and are creating a vibrant, inclusive, and equitable environment for all of our students, faculty and staff. For more information, visit engineering.nyu.edu.
