Research project

ULiège joins the VALHALLA project for the development of more stable and solvent-free solar cells

10 May 2023

The University of Liege (ULiège) joins the European project VALHALLA entitled "Resilient peroVskite solAr ceLls witH enhanced stabiLity and appLicAbility" which aims at the development of perovskite solar cells with enhanced stability and applicability. Funded by the Horizon Europe program, VALHALLA brings together a consortium of 12 partners from 8 European countries, including leading European industrialists, research centres and universities.

€3.9 million grant was awarded by the European Commission (EC) to develop stable, solvent-free, perovskite solar modules for clean electricity generation in Europe closer to market, working to provide pathways to a European industrial base. The VALHALLA project will be developed and coordinated under the leadership of the University of Valencia, Spain. VALHALLA project activities will be carried out over a 3-year time frame

ULiège will participate in the VALHALLA project through two research entities : GeMMe (Georesources, Minerals Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy) and Chemical Engineering-PEPs (Products, Environment, and Processes).

GeMMe contributes to the development of innovative processes for the efficient management of mineral and metallic resources while providing unparalleled upscaling experience in urban ore characterization and processing (with a focus on innovative sorting techniques and hydrometallurgy) derived from a long research tradition in primary ores mining and processing. In the VALHALLA project, the role of GeMMe will be to anticipate the end-of-life of perovskite cells and in particular to formulate recommendations for stakeholders active in the design and manufacture of perovskite cells to encourage a real design for recycling.
PEPs is a research group active in the fields of (bio-) chemical reaction engineering, thermal and mechanical unit operations, process simulation, low carbon energy systems and sustainable development. In particular PEPs developed an expertise in the field of eco-design and environmental evaluation of products and processes using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. In the VALHALLA project, PEPS will lead the work package dedicated to the“Environmental hotspots and Circularity” and will be mostly involved in supporting the eco-design of perovskite cells and evaluating their environmental footprint using LCA.

Renewable energy technologies are needed to replace costly and polluting fossil fuels for energy generation. These technologies must be environmentally, socially, and economically acceptable, and perovskite solar modules have the potential to fulfil all these essential requirements.

VALHALLA will develop perovskite solar cells and modules with power conversion efficiencies above 26% (modules > 23 %) and extrapolated operational lifetime > 25 years, following an eco-design approach: employing harmful-solvent-free perovskite deposition, optimized use of materials, circularity, recyclability, scalable and low-cost manufacturing processes, to create a viable economic pathway for the European commercialization of this sustainable technology.

The concept of VALHALLA is to bring together the critical expertise spanning all the technological competencies in order to redesign and realize a highly efficient, stable, scalable and cost-effective perovskite PV technology, with sustainability considerations driving all technical advancements.

See the project's website

And well-engaged industrial partners such as Enel Green Power and 3SUN (Italy), Ark Metrica LTD (UK) and the Becquerel Institute (Belgium).

ULiège Contacts

GeMME | Philippe GIARO

PEPS | Angélique Léonard

VALHALLA project has received funding from Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action programme under Grant Agreement nº 101082176

ULiège joins the VALHALLA project for the development of more stable and solvent-free solar cells

Project partners

ULiège Contacts