[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6050\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ETrapping light with nanotechnology \u2013 Professor Albert Polman\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat led you to work on solar cell technology?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018My field of research is called nanophotonics, and my research group has studied light at the nanoscale for 15 years. I was always interested in the solar energy problem. About eight years ago we started to realise that everything we knew about light at the nanoscale could be really beneficial if we could integrate it with solar cell technology. I saw I had the expertise to contribute to this. By bringing these two worlds together \u2013\u0026nbsp;solar technology and nanophotonics \u2013\u0026nbsp;we have started doing things we have never done before. What makes it really exciting is that you can contribute to solving a real problem that we have in our society.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECan you explain how nanoscale design can improve solar cell efficiency?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018A good solar panel should catch all the energy from the sun, but in reality it doesn\u2019t, it reflects part of the light, and it doesn\u2019t convert all the colours in sunlight fully to electricity. Nanotechnology integrated with a solar panel can help solve those problems by trapping the light in precisely designed nanostructures and redirecting it into the solar cell in such a way that it can\u2019t escape.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat kind of efficiency improvements do you get?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018With existing technology based on silicon solar panels, which is a relatively mature industry, every percentage counts. So the kind of thing we are doing in our lab is trying to improve the efficiency from 22 % to 23 %, which seems a small step. Everyone says, \u201cHmm, that\u0027s only 1 % better\u201d, but the solar market is worth EUR 100 billion per year, so you could argue that the improvement is worth EUR 5 billion. Small steps are really valuable because the industry is so big. We are also working on completely new solar panel designs that have potential efficiencies as high as 50 % to 70 %.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are your most significant achievements so far?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We\u0027ve demonstrated the generic concept of catching light using nanoscale structures that are etched into the solar cell, or printed on top of the material. We\u2019ve shown it using some materials \u2013\u0026nbsp;for example silicon, glass or titanium oxide \u2013\u0026nbsp;but it could work with any material. That\u0027s something we have really proven in our lab. \u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018We\u0026#039;ve demonstrated the generic concept of catching light using nanoscale structures that are etched into the solar cell, or printed on top of the material.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Albert Polman, AMOLF, the Netherlands\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Another big achievement is laying out the research agenda for ultra-high-efficiency solar cells. I wrote two articles with my colleague Harry Atwater at the US-based California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, which were published in Nature Materials in 2010 and 2012. We proposed our ideas and dreams for the next five to 10 years for making these solar cells. It\u2019s a bit unusual because researchers usually have dreams about what they want to carry out themselves, in their own labs, but this problem is so big and needs the help of so many people that we wrote these dream articles to stimulate further developments in the field.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYou\u0027ve received a number of prizes, which one stands out for you in terms of its significance?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018A very special one is the ENI Award Renewable Energy prize, which Atwater and I were awarded in 2012. ENI is an Italian energy company, and the jury consists of renowned scientists, including Nobel prize winners. So that was a nice surprise. It has helped raise the profile of our group - people learn about our work, which helps with creating new collaborations.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat work are you carrying out with your European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Investigator grant, and what impact has the grant had?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are working on improving the efficiency and lowering the cost of silicon solar cells by modifying some of the manufacturing processes, but also on two other early stage design projects to do with light management at the nanoscale. These may not necessarily lead to better solar cells, but they could be the start of other interesting applications, such as nanosensors or nanoinstrumentation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The ERC grant has had a big impact because it enables us to start up new projects with five or six people, which smaller grants cannot support. Whilst it\u0027s increasingly important to work with industrial partners \u2013\u0026nbsp;we do this all the time \u2013\u0026nbsp;you also have to do the kind of work that is not yet relevant but will be important in the long term. That\u0027s where the ERC grant helps us so much. It means we can do the research that in five years\u2019 time people in industry will say, \u201cwe\u0027re so happy that you started this\u201d.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice would you give to a young researcher starting out today in your field of research?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I would congratulate them that they\u0027ve chosen the right research topic! They will be addressing a really fundamental scientific question, but one that can be applied right away or in the long term, there\u0027s hardly any other research field with this combination. My research deals with turning energy from the sun into electricity, but there are other equally important topics to work on, such as can you turn energy from the sun into a fuel that you could use in your car?\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDo you ever get time off from science?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I do have a new hobby, which is actually related to my work. I\u0027ve set up a theatre performance on solar energy, which will be premiered in November at a local theatre. It\u2019s based on some public lectures that I gave, which we\u2019ve turned into a play about solar energy, but it\u2019s not like a lecture. I contracted the producer and we wrote the script together, and the play has one actor on stage: myself.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The play is just starting out, and we\u0027re trying to interest other theatres to contract us for the next season. It\u0027s a really new adventure, but you know, giving scientific presentations is like acting. To really convey a message to the audiences as a scientist you have to be a good actor \u2013\u0026nbsp;it\u0027s about having the sense of how to best convey the message.\u2019\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3\u003EProfessor Albert Polman\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EProf. Albert Polman leads the Light Management in new Photovoltaics Materials research group at the Dutch research institute AMOLF in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He is professor of Photonic materials for photovoltaics at the University of Amsterdam.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe has received numerous awards in recognition of his contribution to solar cell technology and his insights into the future research agenda.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Polman is a European Research Council (ERC) grant awardee. His group has published more than 250 scientific papers and filed 12 patent applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis play \u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.depurmaryn.nl\/programma\/3495\/Prof_dr_Albert_Polman\/Zonne_energie_en_lichtmanagement)\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESolar Energy and Light Management \u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E premieres at the Purmaryn theatre, in Purmerend, the Netherlands, on 17 November 2014.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-p1mvlomjdodt4x888hf9p-rtktxcsqm-qbn5wpcpnva\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-P1mvLOMjdODT4x888HF9p_rtKtxcsQM_qBn5wpcpnvA\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]