Shaping tomorrow's world: energy

Energy is one of the major challenges in the fight against global warming. It is a theme that covers the entire value chain from the evaluation of energy resources to the different production sources and their storage through to their distribution via electricity networks. At X, the researchers in the Physics of Interfaces and Thin Films Laboratory are working on three technologies to achieve the French target of 32% of energy from renewables in energy consumption by 2030. The possibilities include: the use of silicon nanowires, using their geometry to increase the surface of solar cells, the stacking of different photoelectric components with different properties in order to extract each part of the spectrum of sunlight and increase overall efficiency, and a third possibility for the future of photovoltaic panels using wet-processed materials. Another initiative is the Trend-X program which aims to find answers to the climate transition issue through cross-disciplinary research combining the skills of ten different laboratories at École Polytechnique to work on a global approach and deal with all the energy sector-related issues. Three areas are dealt with in this program: optimization of energy conversion and storage components in terms of efficiency, structures, materials and costs; optimization of the management of microgrids subject to high uncertainty; and evaluation of the impact of renewable energies on the electricity market and the distribution grid.