Scope and aim
This scientific school was part of an international drive to intensify research on thermophotovoltaic conversion. Typically, thermal radiation from a hot body at a temperature of between 700 and 2500 °C is converted into electricity by a photovoltaic cell operating in the infrared. The recent emergence of the thermophotovoltaic battery concept, based on the possibility of storing heat from various sources (industrial waste heat, concentrated solar energy, electrical energy from renewable energies during periods of low demand) at high volume density, presents the scientific community with numerous challenges, both theoretical and experimental, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, involving fundamental physical processes and coupling issues that cut across the elements and scales of the conversion system.
The aim of the school was to train researchers and engineers concerned with the scientific problems posed by the conversion of thermal radiation into electricity. This training should help participants to better identify unresolved scientific questions, and thus guide their research, within the collaborative framework of growing national and international communities.
Sponsors
 | CNRS Engineering, CNRS Chemistry, and CNRS Physics institutes (main sponsor for the CNRS employees) |
 | ANR funding (ANR-11-LABX-0017-01) managed by the University of Poitiers |
  | Funding by Région Occitanie managed by CNRS-DR13 |
 | ANR funding (ANR-10-LABX-0022) managed by the University of Perpignan |
 | LAAS-CNRS (management staff and communication supports) |
Program
- Introduction to thermophotovoltaic conversion [basics, TPV batteries, characterization,…] (6 hours 30 minutes)
- Converting primary energy into thermal energy and thermal energy storage (4 hours)
- Heat transfer [thermal radiation, properties at high temperature] (5 hours 30 minutes)
- Photovoltaic conversion [basics, fabrication, light trapping,…] (5 hours)
- Advanced concepts [near-field TPV, thermophotonics,…] (3 hours 30 minutes)
- Cross-disciplinary scientific issues [Life cycle analysis, multi-physics multi-scale modeling] (3 hours 30 minutes)
| 9h00-11h00 | 11h30-13h00 | 14h30-16h30 | 17h00-18h30 | 19h00 | 19h45 | 21h | ||||
| Sunday, Oct. 13 | dinner | Introduction | ||||||||
| Monday, Oct.14 | 1- Basics of thermal radiation | coffee break | 2- Basics of PV conversion | lunch | 3-Introduction to TPV | coffee break | 4- TPV batteries | Provencal aperitif | dinner | Poster session |
| Tuesday, Oct. 15 | 5- Heat sources and generation | coffee break | 6- Detailed balance for TPV | lunch | 7- Heat storage | coffee break | 8- Environmental aspects | dinner | Panel discussion (TPV batteries) | |
| Wednesday, Oct. 16 | 9- Properties at high temperature | coffee break | 10- Selective emitters | lunch | coffee served | dinner | Panel discussion (heat sources) | |||
| Thursday, Oct. 17 | 11- Fabricating PV cells | coffee break | 12- Photonics in PV cells | lunch | 13- Near-field TPV | coffee break | 14 – Characterization of TPV devices | aperitif | gala dinner | |
| Friday, Oct. 18 | 15- Multi-scale/physics modelling | coffee break | 16- Advanced concepts | lunch | Conclusion** |
Lecturers and panelists
- P.-Olivier Chapuis, CETHIL, CNRS, France
- Alejandro Datas, Instituto de Energia Solar, UPM, Spain
- Jérémi Dauchet, Institut Pascal, Univ Clermont Auvergne, France
- Amaury Delamarre, C2N, CNRS, France
- Jérémie Drevillon, Insitut Pprime, Univ Poitiers, France
- Olivier Farges, LEMTA, Univ Lorraine, France
- Mathieu Francoeur, Univ Utah, USA
- Yasmine Lalau, RAPSODEE, Mines Albi, France
- Esther Lopez, Instituto de Energia Solar, UPM, Spain
- Elyes Nefzaoui, ESYCOM, Univ Gustave Eiffel, France
- Xavier Py, LTeN, Univ Nantes, France
- Inès Revol, LAAS-CNRS, France
- Benoît Rousseau, LTeN, CNRS, France
- Daniel Suchet, IPVF, France
- Rodolphe Vaillon, LAAS-CNRS, France
- Alexis Vossier, PROMES, CNRS, France
- Brendan Kayes, Antora Energy, USA
- Guilhem Dejean, Eco-Tech Ceram, France
Organizers
- Scientific and organizing committee: P.-Olivier Chapuis (CETHIL), Jérémi Dauchet (Institut Pascal), Jérémie Drevillon (Institut Pprime), Olivier Farges (LEMTA), Elyes Nefzaoui (ESYCOM), Xavier Py (LTeN), Inès Revol (LAAS-CNRS), Rodolphe Vaillon (LAAS-CNRS).
- Support: main contacts of the laboratories participating to the team-project TREE, Angèle Noguero & Véronique Cubaud (CNRS, DR14), Hélène Cluzel, Dominique Daurat, Thibault Hueber, Justine Praneuf (LAAS-CNRS).
- Main contact: Rodolphe Vaillon, LAAS-CNRS, France
La Villa Clythia, Fréjus, France