• Extraction of biomass materials
  • Development/Improvement/Performance of materials for biomass systems/plants for heat & power and

      biofuels production (combustion, gasification, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, fermentation and

      composting).
  • Materials/Coatings of biomass combustion chambers
  • Materials for capturing CO2
  • Second generation of biofuels
  • Corrosion resistant materials for biofuel processing
  • Materials, processes and systems for water filtration and desalination in biofuels production
  • Materials for biofuels storage
    ⁞

Photovoltaics (PV)
    • Development/Improvement of processing techniques for thin film
    • Materials and techniques to increase capture of the full spectrum of sunlight.
    • Suitable coatings and coating techniques. Encapsulation methods
    • Characterization of materials degradation due to sunlight. Novel methodologies for characterization of

        defects in solar cells.
    • Recycling of solar system materials at end-of-life
    • Solar cells based on low-cost and nontoxic materials

    Solar cells based on silicon (Si) (amorphous silicon, protocrystalline silicon nanocrystalline silicon)
      - Improvements/Advances in silicon refinement and silicon growth and modeling
      - Gettering and passivation processes
      - Silicon nanowires and nanodots
        ⁞
    CdTe-based and CIGS-based thin-film solar cells
    Multijunction cells
    Single crystal solar cells
    Organic/polymer solar cells
    Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC)
    Nanocrystalline solar cells
    Low-cost solar cells

  Concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) and high concentration photovoltaics (HCPV)
    • Manufacture and durability of lenses for high efficient optic concentrators. Assessment of optical errors

        of optics concentrators
    • Techniques to decrease the alignment error between the cell and the optic and to improve the

        efficiency
    • Thermal management of the module
    • Methods to avoid thermal dilatations, deformations of the materials and defects in the tracking control
      ⁞

  Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) and Solar Thermal
    • Development/Improvement of (key) materials (silica, iron and steel, concrete, plastic, aluminum, molten

        salts…) and coatings used in concentrating solar power systems: collectors, mirrors/reflectors,

        steam generator, heat storage systems and other components
    • Materials for solar thermal collectors and storage tanks
    • Methods/materials to improve solar absorbance. Heat transfer.
    • Development of thermal energy storage materials with improved heat capacity
      ⁞

  • Novel high-performance materials for components and systems in PEM, solid oxide, microbial, alkaline,

     direct methanol, phosphoric acid, molten carbonate and regenerative fuel cells.
  • Anode, cathode and electrolyte materials
  • Development of new materials for fuel cell catalyst. Nanotechnology. Nanocomposite catalyst
  • Degradation of fuel cell components. Identification of fundamental corrosion mechanisms
  • Recycling of fuel cell materials
    ⁞

  • Development/Improvement of advanced materials for high-speed, high volume processing, increasing

     gearing efficiency and harsh environments
  • Materials/Coatings/Methods to reduce fatigue and erosion-corrosion in constituent materials, sub-

     components and major structures
  • Rare earth metals in wind turbines
  • Nanoreinforcements
    ⁞