Clean Energy

Clean Energy

INL Cluster

The most used energy sources today are based on resources that will not be naturally renewed at the pace at which these are currently being consumed. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new materials and technologies that will enable society to convert to renewable energy sources.

We recognise our responsibility to work towards meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy. We aim at improving the performance of energy applications while at the same time reducing their cost to address the energy challenge, which has an indirect impact on the developments addressing all other societal challenges.  At INL, this is done by:

  • Advanced fundamental understanding of micro- and nano-structured energy materials
  • Developing and designing novel materials for energy applications, 
  • Designing and prototyping new energy devices.

Photovoltaics: solar cell architectures

Solar cell architectures are tailored for building-integrated photovoltaics, vehicle-integrated photovoltaics.

Photovoltaics: characterisation

We apply advanced microscopic characterisation methods to improve the understanding of photovoltaic materials at the nanometer and atomic scale.

Batteries: new materials

Dendrite formation upon repeated charging and discharging will affect the lifetime of batteries. New anodes and cathode materials being developed can mitigate this issue.

Batteries: characterisation

Understanding the changes in the size, porosity, structure and composition of the anodes and cathode materials as a function of cycling is key for the stability and longevity of batteries.

Batteries: integration of components

Integration of sensors, interfaces, and other capacities into a microbattery array for in-situ/operando characterisation.

Hydrogen

High-performing catalysts for proton exchange membrane (PEM) or for anion exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysis with reduced utilisation of platinum group metals (PGM).

Coordinators

Funding & Business

Projects

HEDAsupercap

High Energy Density Asymmetric hybrid supercapacitors for applications in consumer goods and electrification

TRANSMIT

Semi-transparent micro-striped thin-film photovoltaics for energy-harvesting windows

Hi-BITS

High efficiency bifacial thin film chalcogenide solar cells

REMAP

REusable MAsk Patterning

ATE

ATE - Aliança para a Transição Energética

NGS

New Generation Storage

GreenAuto

Green Innovation for the Automotive Industry

M2N

Moving2Neutrality

FUNLAYERS

Twinning on Functional Layered Materials for Advanced Applications

SITA

Stable Inorganic TAndem solar cell with superior device efficiency and increased durability

KESPER

Kesterite based Photoelectrodes for Water and Nitrogen Reduction

SpinCat

Spin-polarized Catalysts for Energy-Efficient AEM Water Electrolysis

Design-Solar

Designing superior CIGSe solar cells through understanding and controlling growth

SmartPV

Development of an integrated software tool for PV plant fault prediction using AI

SafeChrome

SafeChrome - Novos revestimentos PVD sobre polímeros, latão e alumínio para substituição de processos de galvanização de Cr (VI)

Cat4GtL

Continuous Catalytic reactor for the Gas-to-Liquid process using NETmix technology

Baterias 2030

Baterias 2030 – Batteries as a central element for urban sustainability | As baterias como elemento central para a sustentabilidade urbana

UL-Flex-Cell

High-performance, ultra-light flexible CIGS Solar Cell

TACIT

Tandem Solar Cells Improved Optically

CASOLEM

Correlated Analysis of Inorganic Solar Cells in and outside an Electron Microscope

2D_PHOT

Two Dimensional Materials for Photonic Devices

CIGNUS

CuInGaSe Nanowires Under the Sun

ARCIGS-M

Advanced aRchitectures for ultra-thin high-efficiency CIGS solar cells with high Manufacturability

GNESIS

Graphenest’s New Engineered System and its Implementation Solutions

UT-BORN-PT

Unconventional Thermoelectrics Based on Self-Organized Binary Nanocrystal Superlatices

MePhEES

Nanostructured transition Metal Phosphides for Electrochemical Energy Storage

CritCat

Towards Replacement of Critical Catalyst Materials by Improved Nanoparticle Control and Rational Design

Sharc25

Super high efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-film solar cells approaching 25%