Research Councils and the Energy Funding LandscapeCase Study: Molecular Photovoltaics

• Address the following:

• How does RC funded research relate to / feed into / bring about innovation in the field of molecular photovoltaics?

• What have been the bottlenecks in achieving research innovation in practice?

• What is needed to make it work better in future?

Research Councils and the Energy Funding LandscapeCase Study: Molecular Photovoltaics

• “Molecular photovoltaics” = dye sensitised, organic, small molecule, hybrid photovoltaic device concepts and underpinning materials science (aka “excitonic”, organic, “Third generation”, plastic)

• Selected as an example of a “science inspired” research area in energy (rather than a user inspired or market driven area)

200 nm

Research Council Support for Molecular Photovoltaics

• Supported largely through basic research (Physical Sciences) programme and Energy programme.

• Supergen, Grand Challenges (energy), Material for Energy, ...

• Excitonic Supergen consortia: £1.1m (2005-2009), £3.34m (209-2013)

• Responsive mode and challenge calls: e.g. £29m of projects in molecular photovoltaics part supported by EPSRC ‘Materials for Energy Applications’ area over 2005-2012

• Large fraction of RC funded basic materials science of molecular semiconductors covered in these projects

• Universities involved: Imperial, Cambridge, Sheffield, Manchester, Bath, Oxford, St Andrews, Warwick, Durham, UCL, Loughborough, Brunel, …

Research Council Support for Molecular Photovoltaics

• Intended outcomes of RC funded research programmes

Our aim is to construct affordable demonstration hybrid solar cells that could be mass-produced with long-term potential to achieve energy conversion efficiency of 10%.

High-efficiency Hybrid Solar Cells for Micro-generation. Manchester & Imperial, 2007-2011

We anticipate the outcome of our work will be a materials set and a scalable process for high speed OPV manufacture.

Polymer / fullerene photovoltaic devices: new materials and innovative processes for high-volume manufacture. Sheffield. 2011-2015

This combined new approach will .. allow significant improvements to be made to specific SDSC designs, but also deliver a more general framework for .. optimization.

Probing and enhancing charge generation and transport in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells. Oxford, 2010-2013

Devices

Design rules

Materials and processes

Research Council Support for Molecular Photovoltaics

• Intended outcomes of RC funded research programmes

• Delivering device concepts, design rules, new materials and process routes intended for application in commercial molecular photovoltaics development

Devices

Design rules

Materials and processes

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• Provides a common understanding of technology status • Risk management • Used to make decisions concerning technology funding • Used to make decisions concerning transition of technology

Disadvantages:• More reporting, paperwork, reviews • Relatively new, takes time to influence the system • Systems engineering not addressed in early TRLs

Research Councils fund up to TRL2/3; The TSB+RCUK is funding up to TRL4/5

Commercialisation: Technology Readiness Levels

Courtesy of Peter Dobson

Commercialisation: Typical Cost/Time Profile of a Spin-Off that manufactures things (2012)

• University research phase £1-2M, 2-3 years RC funded

• £1-2M start-up funds, 2 years with milestones (note this is harder in 2012/3 than in 2000)

• £5M-£10M over ~3 years with milestones

• Discovery, invention, IP filed, some market info. Find a future CEO

• Acquire premises, build team (10-12), equipment, serious market info. Generate IP, retain University contact. Use TSB schemes to reduce burn-rate?Have paying customers?

• Move/extend, restructure Board, build team especially sales/marketing and retain University contacts.Established customer base

Courtesy of Peter Dobson

Innovation in molecular PV: Who develops the technology?

• TSB and TSB:EPSRC co funded projects: Universities as partners– E.g. solar grand challenge projects 2011-2014

• Start ups: Universities involved in spinning out ideas– OPV: Eight19, Solar Press, Molecular Photovoltaics; Ossila– DSSC: Oxford Photovoltaics

• Bigger companies: Universities as consultants or partners in TSB or EU projects– E.g. Tata developing in building integrated dye cell products; G24i indoor chargers– Materials or component suppliers (NSG, Merck)– Watching brief and investment through university research projects e.g. Solvay

Driving Innovation

TRL

MAIN FUNDER

MFGReadiness

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

RESEARCH COUNCILS TSB RDA and BUSINESS

Basic Idea Concept Developed

Experimental Proof of Concept

Process Validated

in Laboratory

Process Validated

on Production Equipment

Process Capability

on Production Equipment

Capability Validated

on Economic

Runs

Capability Validated

over Range of Parts

Capability Validated

on Full Range of Parts over

Long Periods

UNIVERSITY RESEARCH

COLLABORATIVER&D Projects

COMPANY BASED

TSB ScopeRDA =Regional Development Agency

Or Demonstrator

2

Innovation in molecular PV: problems

• TSB etc:– TSB funding limited and thinly spread– …

• Start ups:– Shortage of ‘early risk’ funding in the UK– Investors used to software based technology companies. Manufacturing is more

complicated and expensive– Difficulty in acquiring funds to proceed to stage two.– …

• Bigger companies:– Lack of incentives for large companies to invest in PV commercialisation in the UK– Cost reductions in silicon PV reduce incentive to develop new PV technologies– …

Relating RC funded research in molecular PV to innovation

• How well is this working?

• Where are the gaps?

• Discussion 1: Reflect on what has been happening

• Discussion 2: what could be done to make it better

Contrast between manufacturing and software-based

• Needs a broader range of skills

• Needs a large premises with capital equipment

• Time to market usually long • Has supply chain issues• More likely to have

regulatory and IP issues• Product changes are slow

• Skills range narrower and fewer people needed

• Office space or even home working possible

• Fast time to market• Seldom have supply chain

issues• Less likely IP/Regulatory

issues• Product changes are regular

and fast

If you are an Investor, which of these do you prefer?

Contrast between manufacturing and software-based

• The IP routes are very well understood

• Regulatory frameworks accommodate most products

• IP situation is changing from a “copyright” base to a more conventional Patent route

• Problems can arise with embedded “freeware”

• Regulations are having to assess software

How do we judge the readiness of an idea or product for market?

• There is widespread adoption of a system developed by NASA

• We need to have some decision-lines or stage-gating to plan development

• Remember that the costs scale:research: development: production

1 : 10 : 100Solar cell manufacturing is having to revise these

numbers upwards

Driving Innovation

TRL

MAIN FUNDER

MFGReadiness

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

RESEARCH COUNCILS TSB RDA and BUSINESS

Basic Idea Concept Developed

Experimental Proof of Concept

Process Validated

in Laboratory

Process Validated

on Production Equipment

Process Capability

on Production Equipment

Capability Validated

on Economic

Runs

Capability Validated

over Range of Parts

Capability Validated

on Full Range of Parts over

Long Periods

UNIVERSITY RESEARCH

COLLABORATIVER&D Projects

COMPANY BASED

TSB ScopeRDA =Regional Development Agency

Or Demonstrator

2

Innovation and “Stage Gating” Process

Note that RDAs no longer exist!

The Problems!

• There is not enough early risk money in the UK, and the TSB funds are spread too thinly.

• There is a danger of the second funding gap between TSB support and major Venture funding.

• Making “stuff” requires large investment and takes time.• Solar cell FIT has benefitted Chinese suppliers and had a detrimental effect

on investment in generation 2 and 3 devices

Slides for Jenny Nelson

From Peter Dobson(Oxford University and RCUK)

Research Council Support for Molecular Photovoltaics

• Supported largely through basic research (Physical Sciences) programme and Energy programme.

• Supergen, Grand Challenges (energy), Material for Energy, ...

• Excitonic Supergen consortia: £1.1m (2005-2009), £3.34m (209-2013)SUPERGEN Materials for Energy Solar technology

Excitonic Supergen Consortia, I and II

Supergen Solar Hub (minor part)

£xx m funding toward yy proposals (part funding)

£xx m funding toward yy proposals (part funding)