Hydrogen Production in a PV Concentrator using III-V Multi-Junction Solar Cells

Author

Dimroth, F. ; Peharz, G. ; Wittstadt, U. ; Hacker, B. ; Bett, A.W.

Author_Institution

Fraunhofer-Inst. for Solar Energy Systems, Freiburg

Volume

1

fYear

2006

fDate

38838

Firstpage

640

Lastpage

643

Abstract

Multi-junction solar cells from III-V compound semiconductors can generate ideal voltages for the electrolysis of water. This paper presents results of a PV-concentrator HyConreg with Ga_0.35In_0.65P/Ga_0.83In_0.17As tandem solar cells which are directly connected to the electrodes of a local polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyser. This electrolyser is integrated into the base plate of a concentrator module. A prototype system with an area of 96 cm² has been realized. The solar to hydrogen conversion efficiency of this system was measured outdoor in Freiburg to be 18.2% (based on the thermoneutral voltage of 1.485 V)

Keywords

III-V semiconductors; electrodes; electrolysis; gallium arsenide; gallium compounds; hydrogen economy; indium compounds; polymer electrolytes; solar cells; solar energy concentrators; Ga_0.35In_0.65P-Ga_0.83In_0.17As; III-V compound semiconductors; III-V multijunction solar cells; PV concentrator; electrodes; electrolysis; hydrogen conversion; hydrogen production; polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyser; tandem solar cells; water; Biomembranes; Electrochemical processes; Electrodes; Hydrogen; III-V semiconductor materials; Photovoltaic cells; Polymers; Production; Solar power generation; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, Conference Record of the 2006 IEEE 4th World Conference on

Conference_Location

Waikoloa, HI

Print_ISBN

1-4244-0017-1

Electronic_ISBN

1-4244-0017-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/WCPEC.2006.279536

Filename

4059709