News
Corporate
November 2014
14
Wrexham, UK-based Hayakawa UK
has manufactured and supplied wire
harnesses for use in a revolutionary
refrigeration system that ensures the
safe storage of vaccines throughout the
world.
The company has supplied a redesigned
wire harness solution for a cooling
system developed by Snowdonia, Wales,
UK-based The Sure Chill Company.
The highly advanced technology is set
to transform the refrigeration, food and
beverage, and healthcare industries by
bringing reliable cooling to countries
without adequate power.
The new refrigerators are currently
being used to store vaccines in
developing nations to help combat
life-threatening illnesses such as polio,
as well as maintaining the freshness and
preventing the damage of food.
Inventor Ian Tansley, of Sure Chill, with
investment from UK Business Angel
Of The Year 2012 Peter Saunders OBE,
has identified a robust, reliable and
cost-effective way to store vaccines,
foods and drinks in optimum condition.
He has developed an entirely new
solution and, unlike traditional fridges
that require a continual power source,
Sure Chill’s technology needs very little
power.
It can actively cool without power for
over 12 days in an ambient temperature
of 32°C. The technology also achieves an
even temperature throughout the fridge
compartment with no stratification.
During the development of this radically
new technology, Sure Chill manufactured
wire harnesses in-house on an ad-hoc
basis, which resulted in inconsistencies
in production.
Hayakawa was approached to redesign
the wire harness and create a better
solution for the company’s mains
powered refrigerator.
Technicians
at
Hayakawa
reverse
engineered the original sample and
implemented a number of value
engineered concepts to improve the
overall performance whilst achieving
a cost effective solution. The project
delivered a number of significant
improvements in assembly for The Sure
Chill Company.
Commenting
on
the
successful
collaboration,
Hayakawa
managing
director Phill Harry said: “We are proud
to be associated with such revolutionary
technology
produced
by
a
very
forward-thinking and dynamic company.
“It has been great to work with such a
successful and driven Welsh organisation
that is helping to save both lives and the
planet.”
Hayakawa – UK
Website
:
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Ian Tansley, of Sure Chill, with Peter Saunders OBE
Hayakawa wires used to help save lives
A team of scientists at the University
of Sheffield, UK, are the first to
fabricate perovskite solar cells using a
spray-painting process – a discovery that
could help cut the cost of solar electricity.
Experts from the University’s Department
of
Physics
and
Astronomy
and
Department of Chemical and Biological
Engineering have previously used the
spray-painting method to produce solar
cells using organic semiconductors – but
using perovskite is a major step forward.
Efficient
organometal
halide
perovskite-based photovoltaics were first
demonstrated in 2012. They are now a
very promising new material for solar cells
as they combine high efficiency with low
materials costs.
The spray-painting process wastes very
little of the perovskite material and can
be scaled to high volume manufacturing
– similar to applying paint to cars and
graphic printing.
Lead researcher Professor David Lidzey
said: “There is a lot of excitement around
perovskite-based photovoltaics.
“Remarkably, this class of material
offers the potential to combine the
high performance of mature solar cell
technologies with the low embedded
energy costs of production of organic
photovoltaics.”
While most solar cells are manufactured
using energy intensive materials like
silicon,
perovskite,
by
comparison,
requires much less energy to make. By
spray-painting the perovskite layer in air
the team hopes the overall energy used to
make a solar cell can be reduced further.
Professor Lidzey said: “The best certified
efficiencies from organic solar cells are
around 10 per cent.
“Perovskite cells now have efficiencies of
up to 19 per cent. This is not so far behind
that of silicon at 25 per cent – the material
that dominates the world-wide solar
market.”
He added: “The perovskite devices we
have created still use similar structures
to organic cells. What we have done is
replace the key light absorbing layer –
the organic layer – with a spray-painted
perovskite.
“Using a perovskite absorber instead of an
organic absorber gives a significant boost
in terms of efficiency.”
The Sheffield team found that by
spray-painting the perovskite they could
make prototype solar cells with efficiency
of up to 11 per cent.
Professor Lidzey said: “This study advances
existing work where the perovskite
layer has been deposited from solution
using laboratory scale techniques. It’s a
significant step towards efficient, low-cost
solar cell devices made using high volume
roll-to-roll processing methods.”
Solar power is becoming an increasingly
important component of the worldwide
renewables energy market and continues
to grow at a remarkable rate despite the
difficult economic environment.
Professor Lidzey said: “I believe that new
thin-film photovoltaic technologies are
going to have an important role to play
in driving the uptake of solar-energy, and
that perovskite based cells are emerging
as likely thin-film candidates.”
University of Sheffield – UK
Website
:
Discovery could help cut the cost of solar energy
