U.K. putting $12.3M into thin-film research

England's Durham University announced today that it will lead a $12.3 million national thin-film solar research project.

The university said the government backed project will focus on making thin-film light absorbing cells for solar panels from sustainable and affordable materials.

"At present you would need tens of tonnes of very rare and expensive materials for large scale production of solar cells to produce sizeable amounts of power," said professor Ken Durose, a principal investigator on the project at Durham University.

"Some of the materials currently used may not be sustainable in 20 years time which is why we have to conduct research into alternative materials that are cheaper to buy and more sustainable."

Durham said photovoltaic cells are currently made from components such as indium which costs approximately $660 per kilogram.

The four-year project, which begins in April, is being funded by the U.K.'s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Durham joins seven other universities in the research, including Bangor, Bath, Cranfield, Edinburgh, Imperial College London, Northumbria and Southampton.

Durham said today's funding follows an initial four-year research project on the development of thin-layer photovoltaic cells using compound semiconductors based on cadmium telluride and chalcopyrite.

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