Jul 10 2009
OPV Today has recently announced its forthcoming Organic Photovoltaics Summit 2009, to be held in Boston (October 15-16) this year.
The two-day conference, which is going to feature experts from companies such as Konarka Technologies, Solarmer Energy, Sandia National Laboratories, National Energy Renewable Laboratory (NREL) besides a host of other experienced professionals, is being held at a critical juncture especially from OPV's development perspective. Over the last few years, worldwide research on organic solar cells has focused on increasing the conversion efficiency and improving stability and lifetime.
"The OPV material market is just emerging, but forecasts indicate that OPV material makers will quickly see a massive increase in orders. In this context, it is critical to assess all the commercial and technical issues facing the OPV industry today," said OPV Today's spokesperson Joshua Bull.
The conference will feature discussion on key issues, including OPV market realities, improving efficiency, current cell lifetime capabilities, first applications and markets, cost reduction, and standardisation.
"These are vital topics that need to be addressed now for Organic PV to reach its full market potential. It's an extremely exciting time for Organic PV, but there are still significant roadblocks to overcome before the massive growth can really take off," said Bull.
Companies have made significant progress with their respective offerings for OPV solar cell/ modules.
For instance, in the last couple of months or so, Mitsubishi Cooperation (MC) and Konarka Technologies have come up with advanced offerings. While MC has developed a new organic photovoltaic (OPV) module in conjunction with Tokki Corporation (TOKKI) and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Konarka's organic based photovoltaic solar cells have demonstrated 6.4% efficiency (certified by NREL).
Going forward, it is critical to evaluate where the industry is headed.
Organic Photovoltaics Summit 2009 provides an ideal opportunity to assess how OPVs are going to make a difference and at the same time what needs to be done in order to promote a greater use of PVs in the long-run.