Quantum Dot (QD) displays represent the next generation of TVs with enhanced, brilliant colours, precise visualisations, and greater energy efficiency. However, the materials, cadmium and indium, currently uses to produce these displays have multiple drawbacks. The use of Cadmium in the European area is restricted due to health safety reasons. Indium-based QDs have been highly lacking in performance. They have lower performing quantum yields (QY), measuring at averages of 80%, while also showing poor color performances due to high narrow emission spectrums (FWHM) at more than 40nm. Both technologies have very high production cost due to an extensive production process. We have developed Perovskite-based Quantum Dots that show the highest Quantum Yield and therefore the highest power saving properties. Our Perovskite QDs also show such a narrow FWHM that enables to span the whole colour spectrum as perceivable by the human eye. These features will allow to produce brilliant colours, precise visualisations, and energy savings for the next generation of TV screens. Our high performance QDs, add up to 50% more colours and save up to 30% of currently expended energy for operations compared to QD-enhanced LCD TVs from industry-leader Samsung. We are currently making sales on our R&D scale QDs, as well as sales on other nanomaterials in solution processed OLED and solution processed solar cells. We have currently 15 full-time employees that help us power our operations and support to deliver our sales requests. We have come to the point where our operations would have to significantly ramp-up. The Phase 2 project will allow to set-up the production of Perovskite QDs on an industrial level in order to become a key supplier of optical film manufacturers in the TV screen production value chain.

Photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) that mimic photosynthesis belong to the group of direct systems for converting sunlight to stored chemical energy. Common to those is the potential to become more efficient and cost effective because, unlike indirect ones, they do not involve unnecessary steps such as the sunlight to electricity conversion. Despite their greater potential, there is yet no direct conversion device that works on any technological scale. Indeed, there seems to be a large barrier linked to a poor PEC efficiency in absorbing sunlight and driving the catalysis for water oxidation (WO) and selective CO2 reduction (CO2R) to carbon-based compounds to store chemical energy. In addition, most PEC designs incorporate non-abundant or highly toxic elements precluding their future use at a larger scale. In LICROX we will implement a new PEC type incorporating three complementary light absorbing elements driving WO and CO2R. The latter consists of a tandem assembly that combines Cu nanocatalysts with molecular catalysts made of only abundant elements. The best-in-class transition metal oxides for the photo -anode and -cathode semiconductors will be used in the PEC to validate several light trapping mechanisms which have been proven to be very effective in boosting the light harvesting efficiency in thin film solar cells. To accelerate the endeavor of converting the triple junction PEC proposed into a working technology for transforming light and CO2 into compounds capable of storing chemical energy, LICROX brings together an interdisciplinary team of scientists with a comprehensive expertise in materials chemistry, semiconductor physics, electrochemistry, and photonics from EPFL, TUM, ICIQ and ICFO. Designing a strategy by DBT to overcome societal resistance, LICROX will set the route for a new scalable renewable energy technology to be initially pushed towards an industrial implementation and commercialization by AVA, HST and a newly developed spin-off from ICFO.

DROP-IT proposes combining optoelectronics and photonics in a single flexible drop-on demand inkjet technology platform by means of exploiting the enormous potential of lead-free perovskite (LFP) materials. Specifically, novel crystalline structures beyond conventional ABX3 LFP (double-perovskites and rudorffites) will be computationally screened and chemically synthesized with superior properties as LFPs proposed in the literature. A(Sn-Ge)X3 (A=organic,Cs; X=Cl,Br,I) materials will be considered for initial benchmark devices. The future of DROP-IT technology is envisioned at long-term in the fields of photovoltaics, lighting and printed integrated photonics. This will be possible by developing highly innovative fabrication routes (inkjet printing towards Roll-to-Roll) of LFP pioneering materials (in bulk and nanoscale) by low-cost, high throughput, sustainable, large-scale fabrication techniques on flexible substrates (PET, f.e.) to revolutionize future power, lighting and communication systems. DROP-IT major novelty relies on the innovative use of newly synthesized LFPs in combination with the use of affordable, mask-less, drop on demand inkjet printing onto flexible substrates. The targeted breakthroughs towards the long-term vision of our technology will be based on the following challenges: (1) Theoretical screening of different LFP compound families and chemical synthesis of most suitable ones in the form of nanocrystals and polycrystalline thin films, (2) Formulation of specific and suitable inks of these materials for (3) Inkjet printing of thin films on flexible substrates and (4) Development of stable optoelectronic and photonic devices (solar cells with 12-15% and LEDs with 14-18% efficiencies, amplifiers-lasers with low threshold) as proofs-of-concept for a future technology based on new inorganic LFPs and charge transport layers. DROP-IT is supported by a strong and interdisciplinary consortium with complementary expertise to achieve these objectives.

In the context of increasing energy demand, thin film PV technologies contribute in reducing CO2 emission. Current PV technologies are suffering from several issues: 1 – the outsourcing of PV modules outside Europe, 2 – the large distance between consumption points and generating power plants and 3 – the use of agricultural fields by solar power plant. In this context, building applied photovoltaic (BAPV) approach can face these issues by bringing functionalization to facades or roofs with a small constraint on the building. BOOSTER project targets at deploying the OPV technology to the BAPV market. OPV is a technology that addresses the problematic of world energy production with an eco-responsible approach. Manufacturing OPV modules via printing techniques features a low energy-payback-time and uses resources that are abundant, easily accessible and non toxic. Additionally, OPV demonstrates properties (flexibility, lightweight) that make it easily suitable for BAPV. Recently, technology benefited from a rapid progress of performances with development of advanced materials. The project BOOSTER aims at bringing the OPV technology to a TRL 7 by increasing efficiency, lifetime together with optimizing costs and lowering carbon footprint. Two demonstrators will be installed to illustrated BAPV concepts: a “ready to stick module” and a textile integrated product. BOOSTER will provide an efficient multi-layer OPV architecture demonstrating efficiency up to 15 %. Advanced multifunctional barrier films will be manufactured to increase the lifetime to 35 years. With a large-scale production approach, efforts will be placed on scaling up all the materials and optimization of the R2R manufacturing line to coat all the layers with minimization of performance loss while targeting drastic cost reduction. BOOSTER BAPV products will be integrated in two different locations (FAU in Germany, ENI in Italy), where real-life efficiency will be studied during last year of the project.

RoLA–FLEX is an industry driven project which provides innovative solutions to the existing OLAE challenges associated with performance and lifetime, through: (a) the fabrication and upscaling of organic semiconductors with high charge mobilities (up to 10 cm2/Vs) and high power conversion efficiencies (16% in OPV cell and 12% in OPV module); (b) the development of metal oxides for charge carrier selective contacts and metal nanoinks for highly conductive micropatterns with increased environmental stability; (c) the seamless incorporation of high speed laser digital processing in Roll-2-Roll OPV module fabrication and photolithography based OTFT manufacturing and (d) the demonstration of two TRL5+ OLAE prototypes enabled by the developed materials and innovative processes: 1. A smart energy platform for IoT devices powered by ITO-free and flexible OPVs operating at low indoor light conditions. 2. A new generation of bezel-less and fully bendable smart watches integrating FHD, ultra-bright OLCD/OTFT displays. RoLA-FLEX will advance all the aforementioned technologies to at least TRL5 within its timeframe. RoLA-FLEX will create an opportunity for a yearly increase in revenues of almost €400 M only 6 years after its end, accompanied by hundreds of new jobs. A timely investment in the early days of these new markets can ensure significant market share for the SMEs and Industries involved and greatly boost EU’s competitiveness globally.