Powering the World with Photovoltaics: Status and Opportunities

Using more renewable energy sources for electricity generation is without doubt on the global agenda to mitigate climate change. Solar power and particularly photovoltaics is an attractive technology that offers innovative approaches than can transform our electrical infrastructure. Powering the word with sunlight is a  timely topic as 2015 was named the “International Year of Light and Light Based Technologies” by UNESCO. This workshop organized by Georgia Tech (GT) and CEA-Liten (France) focused on solar energy generation, with a particular emphasis on photovoltaic (PV) materials and devices. French and American experts presented an overview of the photovoltaïcs technology landscape in Europe and in the United–States and discussed future opportunities and challenges generated by recent progress in research and development.

This workshop took place on the campus of Georgia Tech, in Atlanta on November, 3, 2015 and was free and open to the public.

The morning session consisted of scientific and technical presentations on power generation from sunlight. After an overview of PV research and technology both in Europe and in the U.S., specialized talks were given by American and French scientists on the technological issues of power generation using various kinds of solar PV materials and devices, including crystalline silicon, thin films, compound semiconductor multijunction cells for concentrator photovoltaics (CPV), and new material platforms (organics and perovskites) .

Round-table discussions during the afternoon session focused on expanding the discussion to energy storage and transport, which must be considered to further expand solar energy on a larger scale. Finally, different avenues for future scientific and technological bilateral cooperation were explored.

This France-Atlanta event is presented with the generous support of our partners: