Welcome to the Glass Age

60 power sources and develop new industries as the foundation on which to build the edifice of green development. To transform a fossil- based world to green energy, humankind will inevitably embrace cleaner and ever lower carbon energies. Ensuring energy supply and energy security, and enhancing the efficiency of energy production and consumption remain our basic tasks. It is evident that carbon neutrality will not be realized without renewable energies. As an important constituent of renewable energies, photoelectric solar energy is becoming more important in the world’s future energy system (Figure 4.1). According to China National Energy Administration, under the zero-carbon scenario by 2060, photoelectric power generation will reach 3414 billion kWh, amounting to roughly 30% of the world’s power supply, thus constituting its main part. Materials are key to propel the development of photovoltaic power generation. A silicon-based solar cell is usually composed of a cover glass, a film, some solar cell materials, special metal wires, a backplane glass, among others. The main body of the solar cell is sealed in the film between the cover and backplane glasses. In the field of thin-film solar cells, glass is the key substrate for film coating required by various cell types. Thus, glasses underpin the development of photoelectricity. With the development of photovoltaic glass, silicon-based solar cells currently occupy a dominant position in photovoltaics, accounting for 93% of the global market in 2020 with a module conversion efficiency of roughly 25%. As photovoltaic glass becomes thinner and cell’s conversion efficiency improves, the dual-glass module, tunneling-oxide passivating contact (TOPCon) heterojunction with intrinsic thin film solar cell (heterojunction technology, HJT) will define the development of the crystalline silicon solar cell. Figure 4.2. Photovoltaic panel. Source: Pixabay.