MAESTRO (Making perovskites truly exploitable) - has received a €4 million EU funding to establish a new research training network focused on perovskite materials and led by the University of Bath.
MAESTRO has been established to make perovskite-based devices commercially viable, they have begun hiring researchers to gain new knowledge and provide innovation in the exploitation of perovskite materials, which recent scientific breakthroughs have demonstrated show great potential as a solar material.
MAESTRO is an inter-sectoral and multidisciplinary network of:
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Ten academic partners : EPFL, Swansea University | Bar-Ilan University | University of Oxford | University of Konstanz | University of Rome Tor-Vergata | Universitat Jaume I de Castello | Istituto Italiano de Technologia | National Centre for Scientific Research "Democritos"
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Seven industrial partners : GreatCell Solar | Oxford Photovoltaics | 3G Solar | Saule Technologies | Tiberlab | NPL | Met
MAESTRO researchers will combine expertise and state-of the-art infrastructure to find means of increasing cell stability as well as attempting to maintain record efficiencies when moving to large-scale manufacturing processes.
Researchers will be based at each partner institution and will work in a diverse range of fields, including physics, chemistry, materials science and electrical engineering.
Through the creation of the next generation of European experts in the field of alternative energy, MAESTRO will help EU and associate countries meet environmental emissions targets, as well as strengthening European competitiveness in global markets by helping secure the future of EU solar and displays sectors.
The project is led by the University of Bath's Professor Alison Walker.
"Tremendous progress has been made on perovskite technologies since they were found to be good solar absorbers at the start of the decade, and now MAESTRO will help us unlock their full potential."
"Improving device lifetime, increasing the scale of manufacturing, eliminating the effect of material toxicity and boosting efficiency will further establish perovskite as the solar material of the future."
Professor Alison Walker, University of Bath Department of Physics and coordinator of MAESTRO