Solar energy research
Solar energy
Solar energy
The Solar Energy research group focuses on the development of affordable solar energy technologies and allied devices. We provide solutions to counter energy challenges that can lead us towards a sustainable future. The key subjects within the group include high efficiency solar energy conversion and storage, concentrating photovoltaics, solar fuels, 3rd generation solar cells and allied devices. The group is composed of leading and emerging scientists who undertake interdisciplinary research on frontier issues of environment and sustainability along with both national and international partners.
Research areas
The main research areas of this group include:
- Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV)
- Thermal comfort
- Life cycle assessment
- Device fabrication
- Photo catalysis
- Energy Modelling
- Photovoltaics
- Concentrated Photovoltaics
- 3rd Generation Solar Cells
- Grid Connected PV
- Energy Storage
Group members
Academic staff
| Research Lead: Professor Tapas Mallick | Chair in Clean Technologies |
| Dr Mohammad Abusara | Associate Professor in Control and Power Electronics |
| Dr Aritra Ghosh | Lecturer |
| Dr Xiaohong Li | Professor of Energy Storage and Director of Global Development |
| Dr Asif Tahir | Senior Lecturer in Renewable Energy |
| Dr Xiaoyu Yan | Senior Lecturer in Energy and Environment |
Postdoctoral Researchers
- Kimia Jafari
- Yusuf Chanchangi
- Anurag Roy
- Adeel Arshad
- Shubhranshu Bhandari
PhD Students
- William Cameron
- Ali Alqahtani
- Sasireka Velusamy
- Manal Alruwaili
- Mansour Alhabradi
- Mai Alharbi
- Nouf Alkathran
- Fahad Alsahli
- Fahad Alharbi
- Hessa Alabdan
- Khaled Almalky
- Mustafa Al-Fartoos
- Xiuru Yang
- Mathew Burnell
- Sreeram Valsalakumar
- Abdul-Azeez Yusuf
Visiting and Graduate Researchers
- Chandreyee Mallick
- María De Los Ángeles Ceballos Pérez (Visiting from University of Jaen)
Facilities
The Solar Energy group has access to specialist facilities including:
- Large area continuous solar simulator
- Solar simulator
- Impedance spectroscopy (IS)
- External quantum efficiency (EQE) / Internal quantum efficiency (IQE)
- Spectrophotometer
- SOPRA ellipsometer
- Gas chromatograph
- Smart grid setup
- Photo/Electro-luminescence set
- Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC)
- Sun tracker
- Weather station
- Infrared cameras
- Test rig for Photovoltaic (PV) devices
- Specialist software
Visit the facilities page for more information and to enquire about collaborating with us.
Projects
We are working on the fundamental material challenges which hinder cost effective solar fuel production. We are designing new materials with suitable bandgap, bandedge positions, efficient charge separation and transport properties, stable and cost-effective fabrication for spontaneous water splitting and CO2 photoreduction for solar fuel generation.
Our material design strategies involve:
- Computational modelling of energy
- Nanostructure and nanoarchitecture controlled fabrication of energy materials
- Photocatalysts
Read more about our solar fuel research »
Contact: Dr Asif Tahir
JUICE is a one of a kind virtual energy centre. The centre takes a collaborative approach to research and is composed of both British and Indian researchers. The project addresses issues within solar energy, storage and networks as these are challenges that both nations face.
JUICE centre website »
This project aims at developing a household system that harvests energy from the sun, producing both electrical and thermal energy for direct use or storage. In addition, the project seeks to drastically reduce the cost of large scale exploitation of solar energy.
SUNTRAP project website »
RESCUES is an EPSRC funded UK-India project aimed at developing smart grids (SG) with optimum sensible storage solutions for rural communities across UK and India.
RESCUES project website »
This project aims to develop a sustainable and transportable zero emission solar fuel from water splitting. The project is part of the UK India Education Research Initiative (UKIERI). For more information, please contact .
This project aims to develop novel fenestrations for building integration suitable for UK and Chinese building energy applications.