EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in New and Sustainable PV

We propose a Centre for Doctoral Training in New and Sustainable PV. It will support the transformation of PV in the UK will that will in turn aid the country to achieve its renewal energy obligations, and will generate jobs in the technology sectors as well as local manufacturing and installation. The CDT allows for the distributed nature of PV research in the UK with a multi-centre team of seven partners covering all aspects of PV research from novel materials through new device architectures to PV systems and performance. The PhD projects and training span engineering and physical science expertise in materials and device physics, electronic engineering, physical and synthetic chemistry, operations management and manufacturing. The CDT graduates will be capable of transforming state of the art R&D across the PV technologies and, in so doing, contribute to the production and implementation of improved PV products and systems. All partners are members of the SuperSolar Hub and hence already coordinate integrated PV research and training. Students in the CDT will join a thriving research community. The team has unrivalled access to shared facilities in the best state of the art laboratories in the UK. Our group approach brings together expertise with a breadth and depth for training and research that could not be assembled in any other way. Moreover, the collaboration allows us to cut across the traditional boundaries in PV and enables exciting research vectors to be followed in New and Sustainable PV CDT agenda. International collaborations and formal exchange agreements will emphasise the global aspects of advanced research that are important for the development of a leadership group. The CDT members will interact with related research themes such as photochemical conversion of fuels for energy and other applications, and heating and cooling by solar radiation and will be a proactive member of the UK wide Network of Energy CDTs. Our goal is to train the best researchers with a flexible mindset able to communicate across different disciplines and be leaders in the emerging PV industry for advanced technologies. We will provide the training required for graduates to join the sustainable energy and PV sectors. We will establish a real identity of purpose and commonality in each cohort through a training programme designed to give students an understanding of all aspects of PV, including implications for society and an experience of a commercial environment. Students will be provided with a bespoke curriculum and training programme that exposes them to: (i) underpinning fundamentals across all the relevant disciplines, (ii) current state-of-the-art in knowledge and challenges in scale-up and systems, and (iii) unparalleled opportunities to engage in leading-edge interdisciplinary research projects as part of a national team. We will create a doctoral training environment in which students benefit from leading academic expertise and world-class facilities to develop their knowledge as well as the tools to innovate and create within their selected research theme. The unique cross functional skill-sets that our graduates will have will make them highly valuable to the academic community seeking to address ambitious basic manufacturing research challenges, and to industry, who have an urgent need for appropriately trained scientists and engineers able to support PV technologies within their commercial operations. To allow the students the chance to develop a common sense of purpose, each cohort will attend training events together. Courses will cover fundamental aspects common to all PV technologies and also advanced courses based on the partners' research expertise. There will be industrial and international placements. Coherence across the CDT will be aided by a virtual collaboration medium containing webinars and video lectures and pages where students and staff can collaborate via groups, and online forums.