A Network of Solar Research Tools Shared by Academia and Industry

As the cost of crude oil continues to spiral upward while supplies decline, generating clean power from renewable sources like the sun becomes ever more critical. In order to speed development of photovoltaic (PV) research and development, a team of researchers is using Oregon BEST funding to establish a unique, shared network of research tools, expertise, and instrumentation right here in Oregon.

The Oregon Support Network for Research and Innovation in Solar Energy (Oregon SuNRISE) will consist of a network of shared facilities and expertise that spans the Oregon University System and is accessible to both industrial and academic clients.

University of Oregon professor Mark Lonergan, who is teaming with the director of the U of O Solar Energy Lab, Frank Vignola, on the project, says the goals of the shared network are fourfold. “We want this new network to provide vital infrastructure for photovoltaics research and development, serve as a nexus for research collaboration, stimulate commercialization of state-of-the-art photovoltaics, and enhance the education of future scientists and engineers who will work in the PV field,” Lonergan says.

Lonergan and Vignola are developing a laboratory based at the U of O for basic research on new materials and concepts for solar-to-electric conversion. Solar energy researchers throughout Oregon—from both academia and industry—will have access to this shared lab, which builds on the U of O Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory and the university’s extensive infrastructure for materials research, including the new Lorry I. Lokey Nanoscience Research Laboratory, part of the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) facilities network.

The funding from Oregon BEST will enable acquisition of a research-scale solar simulator, a device that can test solar cells and solar microreactors under controlled laboratory conditions. This simulator will be a central piece of a more comprehensive shared facility, including equipment for the fabrication and detailed characterization of advanced materials and architectures for photovoltaics.

This public-private, shared research network will also fuel growth of Oregon’s solar industry by attracting solar energy manufacturers and associated businesses to the state, where they know they will have access to cutting-edge solar research tools, world-class expertise, and a skilled workforce equipped with solar energy education and experience.

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