Norbert Osterthun, Mark Helamieh, Dennis Berends, Nils Neugebohrn, Kai Gehrke, Martin Vehse, Martin Kerner, Carsten Agert
Abstract
Spectrally selective solar cells (SSSC) can be used to combine photovoltaics and photosynthesis. In contrast to agrivoltaic systems where opaque modules are installed with enough space in between to realize only partial shading.SSSCs can be used to cover an entire area of farmland, greenhouses or photo-bioreactors. This concept takes advantage of the chlorophyll a absorption spectrum, which exhibits its maxima at around 460 and 680 nm. A SSSC can be used to generate electricity by absorbing the remaining green and infrared light. In this publication we present the spectral sharing of sun light using nano-absorber based spectrally selective solar cells in combination with microalgae (Acutodesmus obliquus) biomass production. These SSSCs were installed in a lab cultivation unit to evaluate the influence of the spectral selective illumination on the algae growth rate. Different photon fluxes and the influence of blue light on the biomass production were tested.
