Internet of things system integrated with solar cells and batteries: adding skills to reduce barriers in access to clean and renewable energy

• Grant number: 22/06722-7
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2022
• End date: October 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Agreement: CONFAP - National Council of State Research Support Foundations
• Principal Investigator: Roberto Manuel Torresi
• Grantee: Roberto Manuel Torresi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Paulo Filho Marques de Oliveira

Abstract

To meet the growing global energy demand, clean and low-cost solutions have been increasingly sought, especially due to climate change and the global commitment to reduce carbon emissions. Among the various renewable technologies, solar energy presents itself as a strong candidate with the potential to meet current and future demands. A limitation in solar energy is its non-continuous source of energy, making necessary solutions both in the conversion of energy provided by the sun and in its storage. For conversion, solar panels are the most efficient method presented so far and of the third generation of photovoltaic devices developed, perovskite solar cells are the most promising and currently studied for their potential in energy conversion efficiency, reaching 25.5% of certified efficiency with only 12 years of development and low cost for preparation when compared to commercially applied silicon cells. However, technological barriers such as the toxicity of some lead-based components and the low stability with respect to temperature, ultraviolet radiation and humidity are the current challenge for the application of the technology on a large scale. From the perspective of electrochemical energy storage, metal-ion batteries with sodium batteries present interesting characteristics for their application, mainly in stationary systems. This project aims to develop and consolidate lead-free photovoltaic devices using a carbon-based architecture and to integrate photovoltaic cells to electrochemical energy storage with systems of high cycleability ie duration. (AU)