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La start-up suisse Insolight, filiale de l’EPFL, a développé un prototype de panneaux solaires qui affichent un rendement de 36,4 %, soit deux fois plus que les modèles de panneaux solaires traditionnels en vigueur à l’heure actuelle. Composée de cellules ultra performantes et de lentilles, et conçue pour absorber le moindre rayon du soleil, cette innovation pourrait offrir à la technologie solaire de meilleurs performances et de nouvelles perspectives de développement à l’échelle mondiale.

Cellules ultra performantes et système de microtraking

Pour atteindre de tels résultats, les membres d’Insolight, start-up soutenue au sein du parc innovation de l’Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), ont conçu un système optique en plastique transparent très fin permettant de concentrer les rayons captés vers des cellules ultra performantes. Ces cellules dont le rendement atteint près de 42 % sont composées de plusieurs couches leur permettant de capter plusieurs longueurs d’ondes. Déjà connues mais très onéreuses, elles n’étaient jusqu’à présent utilisées que pour des projets bien spécifiques comme la recherche spatiale.

Insolight propose ici d’utiliser ces cellules ultra performantes, mais dans des quantités extrêmement réduites afin de maintenir un coût compétitif, et d’optimiser leur exposition aux rayons du soleil. Ces chercheurs n’utilisent alors que des segments de quelques millimètres carrés auxquels ils intègrent un système de microtracking permettant de capturer 100 % des rayons et cela quelque soit leur angle, augmentant ainsi la durée d’exposition.

Lire aussi : L’énergie photovoltaïque est-elle réellement renouvelable ?

La plaque transparente est dotée de lentilles millimétriques qui agissent comme un réseau de petites loupes, et se déplacent de quelques millimètres durant la journée, en fonction du soleil, de manière à maximiser le rendement. « Imaginons une douche : toute l’eau est collectée par un petit écoulement, nul besoin que ce dernier fasse toute la surface du bassin », explique Laurent Coulot, CEO de la start-up.

Une énergie solaire enfin compétitive ?

Si des procédés similaires font déjà l’objet de recherches scientifiques poussées dans d’autres universités, l’équipe d’Insolight a réalisé ici la prouesse d’en faire un système à fort rendement (plus de 36 %) et proche de la commercialisation en un temps record. « Tous les composants ont été conçus dès le début pour être facilement fabriqués en grande série », explique Mathieu Ackermann, un des membres fondateurs d’Insolight.

Développé lors d’une bourse de démarrage de l’EPFL, ce système prend si peu de place qu’il permet d’être monté comme n’importe quel panneau photovoltaïque. Il sera probablement un peu plus cher à l’achat, mais la différence devrait rapidement être comblée par la quantité d’énergie supplémentaire qui pourra être produite.

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Alliant efficacité et facilité de montage, les créateurs de la start up espèrent à terme ouvrir de nouvelles perspectives de développement en rendant les systèmes photovoltaïques compétitifs avec les énergies fossiles. « L’objectif est désormais de pousser le concept dans ses limites et de montrer comment un système de taille commerciale peut se comporter », conclut Christophe Ballif, directeur du Laboratoire de photovoltaïque de l’EPFL.

Crédits photo : EPFL – Alain Herzog