Kaptur Celebrates $399,876 NSF Award for University of Toledo

Statement

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) celebrated news today that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $399,876 to The University of Toledo (UT) to support research into alternative earth-abundant materials that could be used in the production of photovoltaic cells that generate solar energy.

"Northern Ohio is the birthplace of First Solar and many other renewable energy technologies and firms, and our region continues its path-breaking leadership‎ in solar energy development with this new award to UT,"said Rep. Kaptur. "These UT researchers are working to identify new materials that could make solar power cheaper and more sustainable. This effort has the potential to transform the future of energy production. I congratulate NSF for recognizing the importance of this work and the faculty and student researchers for earning this well-deserved award."

In 2014, renewable energy accounted for 13.1 percent of all U.S. domestic energy production. Solar energy generation is the nation's fastest-growing renewable energy source, with net generation doubling from just over nine million megawatt hours in 2013 to 18.3 million megawatt hours in 2014. Ohio has been no exception, as the state's solar energy production jumped 32 percent between May 2014 and May 2015.

Dr. Yanfa Yan, Principal Investigator for the project, added,"Electricity is the fastest growing sector in the U.S. and electronic devices are everywhere. Finding new earth-abundant materials to use in future thin-film electronic devices will change how they are made and reduce how much they may cost. This will help enable the widespread use of solar cells as an abundant source of electricity for a sustainable energy economy for the future. We look forward to working with our collaborators on this ground-breaking effort."

Dr. William Messer, Vice President of Research at The University of Toledo,remarked,"Dr. Yan's research is focused on the development of thin film photovoltaics using abundant earth elements. The project builds on fundamental chemical studies using computer modeling approaches to rapidly design and fabricate solar cells. The University of Toledo has a strong track record in applied research with talented faculty addressing real world problems and providing students with advanced training opportunities in cutting edge fields."

Dr. Karen Bjorkman, Dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, noted,"This is an excellent collaborative project that links the outstanding work being done on solar cells and renewable energy at the University of Toledo with key researchers at other institutions. Our faculty researchers and students will have the opportunity to identify new materials that can make renewable solar energy more efficient while at the same time enabling the production of solar cells from more easily available and cheaper alternative materials. The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics is proud of the outstanding work being done by Prof. Yan and his collaborators, and our students will benefit greatly from being able to participate in important projects like this."

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