An Italian research team has discovered that Radicchio seedlings grew in a lab-baffling greenhouse with a perovson-PV-Dak-Dak faster growth and larger leaves showed than the bald glass reference. In addition, simulations of such a PV roof revealed a positive energy balance, which meets the energy needs of a typical greenhouse in Italy.
Italian researchers compared the effects of a semi-transparent Perovskiet-Sonne-PV, based on Europe-enriched Cesium Lead Triiodide (CSPBI3: EUI2), with a bare glass reference in a lab-baffling green-son-zonne-Zonne-PV-experiment.
The results showed that, despite the reduced exposure to light, Radicchio seedlings showed faster growth and larger leaves than the reference setup. They also estimate that such a greenhouse roof would offer a “positive energy balance” that could meet the energy requirements of a typical greenhouse in Italy.
The activation of the research was the idea that semi -transparent solar modules can be used in Agrivoltaïschens to reduce shadow effects that can otherwise be caused by conventional silicon PV. The team opted for CSPBI3: EUI2 perovskiet solar cell technology due to the potential for high power conversion, low production costs and the ability to offer spectral filtering and phase stability. However, a better understanding of cell technology on the growth of plants was required.
“For this reason we have applied a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the impact of perovskiet lighting on the growth of plants and transcriptomic reactions, making insight into their potential for agrivoltaic applications,” said the corresponding author of the research, Salvatore Valastro said PV -Magazine.
The Radicchio factory was chosen for the experiment because of the size and convenience to grow it in pots. The focus was on the initial phase of growth in laboratory scale greenhouses with bare filtered by glass and perovskiet filtered light for 15 days. A tower equipped with 12 LEDs acted as a solar simulator.
The multidisciplinary project included investigating the “different replicas of seed germination and seedling growth.” Functional responses of the plants for environmental change were investigated, including ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequencing.
“The most surprising finding is that Radicchio seedlings show improved growth under the roof of the perovskiet, with RNA sequencing that reveals adaptive plant reactions to environmental changes induced by the Perovskiet sunlight filter,” said co-author, Raffaella Balestrini.
Indeed, the RNA sequencing revealed “differential gene expression patterns” that reflect adaptive reactions to changes to the environment.
“Our findings emphasize the promising impact of Perovskiet solar cells (PSC) on the growth of plants at an early stage, which opened the door for further multidisciplinary research into their application in the production of controlled inner crops,” Balestrini added.
The greenhouse on laboratory scale compared the semi -transparent solar cell material with conventional bare glass greenhouse roofing. The cell was a flat nip device that has the perovskite between a titanium dioxide (TIO2) electron transport layer (ETL) (ETL) and a bottom electrode of a hole transport layer (HTL) of poly-triarlamine (ptaa) (foored tinarde-doted. The glass front and tailgate was 2 mm thick.
After characterizing their CSPBI3: EUI2 solar cell, the researchers simulated his Real-World application as a cash roof in Treviso, Italy, which followed the photovoltaic performance for a year.
To calculate the PV energy yield that is required for cash operations, the scientists used recent energy studies that determine the annual requirements for heating, cooling, irrigation and lighting. The team noted that cultivating leafy vegetables such as Radicchio or SLA series requires from 1 kWh/m2 to 5 kWh/m2 for structures with low energy intensity, and for High-Energy intensity bases, it varied from 83kWh/m2 to 222 kWh/m2, with variations based on geographical locations.
A simulation of CSPBI3: EUI2-Sonne-PV in real-scaling installations indicated a production capacity of 243 kWh/m2, the team said that it could meet the energy requirements of high intensive greenhouses for heating, cooling, lighting and irrigation. The estimates of energy production took into account the possible inaccuracies in the simulated performance, according to the paper.
The work is described in “Semi-transparent perovskiet modules, extensive tests with overhead PV panels and sun simulation and RNA sequencing techniques to evaluate gene expression changes as a result of varying lighting conditions‘Published by Nature communication. The team that participated in the research had members of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, Università degli Studi di Messina and Cicci Research.
“Further research is underway to scale up to large systems in real-world circumstances,” said co-author Alessandra Albert,
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