Cost effective – high performance

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.

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Why We Are here

Over 12% 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 and other metals already account for over 10% of the manufacturing cost of a photovoltaic module and contribute to its embedded carbon content.

A lower cost and more sustainable electrode material is urgently required.

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.

Screen-printed graphene electrodes

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pip.3661

Our patented graphene electrode

Who we are

We’ve assembled a unique team that brings together expertise in high-efficiency solar cell design and low-cost high-conductivity graphene production.

Advisory board

Pr. Michael Grätzel

Professor Michael Grätzel is Director of the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces at EPFL. He pioneered research on dye-sensitized solar cell, the technology on which the perovskite solar cells are based. He developed 120+ solar cells-related patents out of his research activities and has access to most of the PV companies worldwide. He is recognized internationally for his work on high-efficiency perovskite solar cells and is ranked #1 in a list of 100,000 of the world’s most cited scientists across all fields.

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

Dr Michael Irwin founded Cubic PV and served as CTO until November 2022. He has worked in the photovoltaics industry for over 18 years and has extensive connections across the industry. He has experience in VC fundraising and the development of IP portfolios (with 38 patents in his name, he is in the top 4 internationally in his field).

Neil Crabb

Neil Crabb is Chief Executive of Frontier IP. He co-founded Sigma Capital Group plc and has considerable experience as an investor and director of a wide range of technology and university spin-out companies. He is currently a director at Pulsiv, who are commercializing a patented technology to maximise power output from solar panels. Neil is an approved person under FSMA.

Executive management

Dr. Thomas P. Baumeler

CEO

Dr Thomas P. Baumeler (CEO) holds a PhD from the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces at EPFL, where he was winner of the 2023 EPFL Doctorate Award. He has 5 years of experience developing emerging solar cells technologies. In particular, his research led to the development of high-efficiency perovskite solar cells. He also holds an MSc in analytical, inorganic, and physical chemistry.

Dr. George Kakavelakis

CTO

Dr George Kakavelakis (CTO) has 10 years experience on graphene materials development for solar cells. He currently holds a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship at EPFL. He will shortly take up an Assistant Professorship at the Hellenic Mediterranean University (HMU) in Crete. Previously, he was a research fellow at Wolfson College Cambridge and a research associate at the Cambridge Graphene Centre where he developed the new electrode materials.

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.

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.