Professor Man Soo Choi’s research team, through the application of the principle of photosynthesis achieved a efficiency of 17.9%, surpassing IBM, Sharp and at 1/3 the price, allowing for mass production like newpapers.

The percentage of electricity generated that comes from renewable energy in Korea is a mere 0.7%, making us the last among OECD countries. One of the leading forms of renewable energy, the solar cell market is also currently being monopolized by China.<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

However, recently, Korea has managed to rank 1^st place in the “hot” solar cell technology also called 3^rd generation solar cells. The ‘Perovskite Solar Cell’, made by layering multiple films together has an efficiency of 17.9%, officially being stated as the world’s 1^st by the NREL in America.

SNU Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Man Soo Choi said “We are way ahead USA’s IBM and Japan’s SHARP in terms of 3^rd generation solar cell technology, followed by the Swiss Lausanne College of Engineering and the UK Oxford University.” Lausanne College of engineering revealed recently that they have achieved an efficiency of 14.1%.

Ο Achieving 1^st in Efficiency with the Photosynthetic Solar Cell.

For the research lab to achieve this feat, it took more or less 2 years, with the help of an annual funding of 10 billion won by the MSIP after the selection of Professor Choi’s ‘Multiscale Energy System Lab” as a Global Frontier Corporation in 2011, for the development of cheap and efficient solar cells.

The main advantage to the Perovskite Solar Cell is the fact that it is 3 times cheaper than the silicon based solar cells currently leading the market. The Silicon solar cells cost around 0.6 (617 Won) dollars per Watt of power produced but the Perovskite Solar cell costs merely 0.2 dollars (206Won). The solar cell can also me mass produced through stamping, just like newspapers.

Professor Choi claimed, “The application of the principle of photosynthesis, which uses the sun as an energy source, in the solar cells had a impactful role in improving the efficiency.  As soon as we complete reinforcements for the solar cell to withstand the monsoon humidity and bad weather, we should be able to commercialize it in 2 to 3 years.”

Ο Technology to Reduce the Platinum Catalyst in the Fuel Cell Also Developed

Following solar cells, the research team’s main research lies in the fuel cell. The automotive industry forecasts that the age of the hydrogen fuel cell cars will officially start next year. However, for this to happen, there is an obstacle that must be overcome. It is the platinum used in fuel cells. Platinum is used as a catalyst to produce hydrogen through the electrolysis of water.

KAIST Professor Hyun Joo Lee from the research team mentioned, “To make 1 Hydrogen Fuel Cell car we need about 70 grams of platinum, which means if we were to replace all existing disel and gasoline cars, all the platinum left in the world will not suffice.”

For this reason, the research team is developing a technology to reduce the amount of platinum used in the fuel cells. Currently, they have succeeded in operating the fuel cell with only 20 grams of platinum. The research team plans to reduce that number to 7 grams, 1/10^th the original required amount by 2020. They are also developing a replacement for the platinum catalyst using manganese phosphate.

Professor Choi said, “Our current competitors of our renewable energy is the fossil fuels currently being used. We will be able to develop zero energy buildings which store energy during the day with the solar cells developed and meet the power requirements during the night”

Donga Science Journalist Woo Sang Lee idol@donga.com