| George Monbiot's recent guardian article got me | | | | funding. For this reason, many promising technologies |
| thinking about the nature of research and | | | | never make it out of universities at all. |
| development in the photovoltaic industry and how | | | | The painful truth is that the scale-up process is |
| R&D has been impacted by feed-in tariffs in Europe. | | | | absolutely critical to getting a technology onto the |
| Having worked in photovoltaic research both in a | | | | market. Without this step you may as well not have |
| university laboratory and industry I have some | | | | bothered inventing the technology in the first place. I |
| experience of R&D. The field of photovoltaics | | | | know from experience that there are hundreds of |
| certainly falls into the category of applied research, | | | | extremely exciting new types of solar cells sitting |
| meaning that the ultimate goal is not only to gain | | | | waiting in laboratories around the world. The |
| new knowledge, but to bring new products onto the | | | | bottleneck is and always has been raising finance for |
| market that improve the world around us. To achieve | | | | the expensive scale-up process. |
| this however, there is a long journey that must be | | | | In the last few years however, since 2004-5, there |
| undertaken - getting a new technology onto the | | | | has in fact been a remarkable inflow of venture |
| market is a multi-stage process. | | | | capital money in solar energy. Certainly not all, but |
| Of course every new idea is different, and no new | | | | many solar companies have managed to raise money |
| technology undergoes the same journey (whatever | | | | to take their technologies from the lab to |
| people say, there is no clear line between the terms | | | | manufacturing. Venture capitalists (particularly from |
| 'research' and 'development'). There are some | | | | Silicon Valley) and corporations across the world have |
| features however, that are common in technology | | | | poured billions into the hands of solar cell scientists to |
| commercialization processes: | | | | take their technology on to the next step. |
| At the beginning is painstaking fundamental research | | | | What caused this sudden surge in investment in solar |
| in a laboratory. This may not even involve making a | | | | energy? Certainly it wasn't a shortage of |
| prototype but for example may simply consist of | | | | revolutionary ideas for solar cells - the concepts that |
| measuring an effect in some new material. Many, | | | | were given financing have been around since the |
| many ideas are proposed, tried and rejected for | | | | 1970s. My belief is that it was a direct result of the |
| every idea that makes it past the first step. This is | | | | German feed-in tariff that was implemented in its |
| the most creative part of the process, which is why | | | | current form in 2004, shortly before the investment |
| it attracts so many brilliant minds, but the most that | | | | frenzy began. |
| can be achieved here in real terms, is some | | | | Almost overnight, Germany became the single largest |
| suggestion that a concept has a chance in the | | | | solar energy market in the world, and has remained |
| outside world. | | | | so ever since. In 2009, over 60% of all the world's |
| From the initial conception of a new technology, | | | | solar panels were installed in Germany. The feed-in |
| extensive tests must be carried out in the lab to | | | | tariff guarantees a market for solar energy products |
| show feasibility of the idea. Once all the tests that | | | | and this is exactly what investors are looking for to |
| can be done in a laboratory have been done, it is | | | | reduce the risk of a new technology. There will |
| time for the research to outwards and beyond, and | | | | always be technical risk, but the feed-in tariff means |
| into the development stage. The challenge is to take | | | | that at least if a new technology does work, |
| the small-scale prototype closer and closer to what | | | | investors can be sure there will be someone to buy |
| might be considered a real product using a real | | | | it. |
| manufacturing process. In the photovoltaic cells, | | | | Many of these internationally funded new solar panel |
| those made in the laboratory are often tiny (smaller | | | | companies decided to build their first production lines |
| than a postage stamp) and fabricated using methods | | | | in Germany. Examples of such companies are First |
| that are totally unsuitable for large-scale production. | | | | Solar, Nanosolar, Avancis, Q-Cells, Sunfilm, Signet |
| Laboratory research however, is relatively very | | | | Solar, ErSol, Johanna Solar... I could go on. Each of |
| cheap compared to the later stages of development. | | | | these companies has raised hundreds of millions of |
| The big hurdle for scientists is to find the money to | | | | dollars to build factories that produce new types of |
| pay for the next step in the development journey. | | | | solar panels. Even the companies not located in |
| Whilst more money in basic research is always | | | | Germany have all open their first sales office there. |
| welcome, there are a number of defined funding | | | | Of course not all these companies will be successful, |
| bodies that scientists can apply to for laboratory | | | | in fact Sunfilm recently announced it would go into |
| research. UK universities have so far been fairly | | | | administration, but that is the nature of developing |
| successful in attracting funding to expand research | | | | technologies. The process of designing and inventing |
| for renewable energy research in recent years. What | | | | a new factory, and then using it to make good |
| is much less clear however, is who will pay for the | | | | reliable solar panels takes such a long time. Despite |
| later stages of development when a technology is | | | | this, First Solar has just entered the S&P500 with |
| ready to leave the lab, but still has someway to go | | | | billions in annual revenue, and several others are in |
| before it is proven on a large scale. Often there are | | | | their footsteps. There is risk, but without trying you |
| a lot of big technical challenges to go from small to | | | | don`t have a chance. The prize is great for those |
| large-scale manufacturing, and one can never be sure | | | | who succeed, and often the experience an expertise |
| that it will be viable at all until you try. With new | | | | gained in failure is not without value. |
| types of solar cells, often this expansion happens in | | | | My opinion is that the feed-in tariff is great for |
| several stages, with multiple, progressively larger | | | | encouraging investment in the scale-up stage of |
| production lines being built. It can get VERY | | | | R&D, which is very poorly funded in the UK. |
| expensive. | | | | Laboratory research will continue, and governments |
| This gradual scaling up of a laboratory process is not | | | | should not cut back spending on universities. |
| usually paid for by government sponsored R&D | | | | However, if a government wants this early stage |
| programs - building a manufacturing plant is seen as a | | | | research to eventually make an impact on the |
| commercial exercise. Scientists are therefore forced | | | | economy, they have to find a way to support |
| to go to the private sector and do battle with | | | | expansion stage R&D, and introducing a feed-in tariff |
| venture capitalists and the like to get the necessary | | | | is very good way to do this. |