Unleashing the
power of graphene for solar cells
We have developed and patented a novel process to integrate graphene electrodes into solar cells, replacing the silver and other precious metals whilst retaining or improving power conversion efficiencies and reliability.
We are now working with partners to scale this technology and bring the cost and performance benefits to all types of solar cell and beyond.
Why We Are here
Over 16% of worldwide silver production is consumed by the solar industry; a figure that is predicted to increase dramatically as we transition to net-zero carbon electricity production. Predictions for silver usage between now and 2050 equate to 85-113% of the known global silver reserves.
Silver alone accounts for 10-15% of the manufacturing cost of a photovoltaic module, with the solar industry consuming approximately 193.5 million ounces in 2023 – valued at over $6 billion ! This reliance on silver not only drives up costs but also increases the carbon footprint of solar panel manufacturing..
To scale solar energy sustainably, the industry must shift to a lower-cost, more abundant, and environmentally friendly electrode material – one that ensures the future of clean energy isn’t bottlenecked by resource scarcity.
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What we do
New material
A new electrode material is also needed to commercialise the latest generation high-efficiency perovskite solar cells. Research grade cells use gold electrodes, which are too expensive for volume production. Other metals cause reliability issues due to metal induced migration.
A single solution
Graphene offers a solution to all of these problems, but only if it can be integrated into the solar cell with sufficient reliability and with a lower resistance than currently available graphene electrodes.
Solve the coming crisis
GraphEnergyTech highly conductive graphene electrodes bring the solution to solve the coming silver crisis in established solar cells technologies and represent an enabling technology for the industrial development of the emerging perovskite solar cells.
Who we are
We’ve assembled a unique team that brings together expertise in business development, high-efficiency solar cell design and low-cost high-conductivity graphene production.
executive management
Dr. Thomas Baumeler
CEO
Dr Thomas Baumeler (CEO) holds a PhD from the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces at EPFL, where he was winner of the 2023 EPFL Doctorate Award. His 5 years of experience developing emerging solar cells technologies (perovskite) prompted him to explore non-metallic electrode technologies, which was a key parameter to achieve stable devices. Following promising results, Thomas founded GraphEnergyTech ltd at the end of his PhD.
Dr. Nick Rimmer
Business Development Advisor
Dr Nick Rimmer (Business Development Advisor) has over 30 years commercial and management experience of bringing novel materials technologies to international B2B markets. He holds a PhD in semiconductor physics and materials science from the University of Cambridge and a post-graduate diploma in engineering management from the University of Bath.
Dr. David Martineau
LEAD SCIENTIST
Dr David Martineau (Lead Scientist) is a skilled chemist whose expertise lies in carbon-based electrodes and solar cells manufacturing. Notably, he has over 12 years of experience developing carbon pastes for screen-printable electrodes and their application on a broad array of photovoltaic technologies.
Dr. Vaishakh Kedambaimoole
SENIOR SCIENTIST
Dr Vaishakh Kedambaimoole (Senior Scientist) is a material scientist expert in developing highly conductive graphene inks for diverse applications. He spent three years at the Cambridge Graphene Center optimizing low sheet resistance graphene inks before joining GraphEnergyTech.
ADVISORY Board
Our advisory board comprises influential world leading experts in solar cells (Michael Grätzel and graphene (Andrea Ferrari), as well as in solar industry (Michael Irwin) and technology commercialization (Neil Crabb):
Pr. Michael Grätzel
Pr. Andrea Ferrari
Professor Andrea Ferrari is the Founder and Director of the Cambridge Graphene Centre and the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Graphene Technology. He is recognized internationally for his work on graphene production methods and applications. He chairs the management panel and is the Science and Technology Officer of the European Graphene Flagship programme.
Dr. Michael Irwin
Neil Crabb
Work With us
If you are interested in working with us to integrate graphene into solar cells, contact us at info@graphenergytech.com
You can also follow us on Linkedin.
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