2 - September - 2022
By: Claudia Márquez Rojas, Journalist. General Directorate of Communications.
The inauguration of the new solar simulator of the House of Studies marks a milestone for the development of activities and projects in conjunction with the industry, both in the development of R&D and at the level of specialized consultancies.
In August, the Federico Santa María Technical University inaugurated a unique facility in South America: the Solar Flasher A+A+A+ Simulator with bifacial capacity.
This equipment was financed by the National Research and Development Agency (ANID) through the FONDEQUIP project N°EQM200183 “Indoor photovoltaic measurement and monitoring station-solar simulator”, developed by the USM with the support of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso , University of Antofagasta, Andrés Bello National University, University of Concepción, University of Chile, Laborelec Latin America, ATAMOS-TEC and Fraunhofer Chile Research.
In this project, the USM has the participation of four academic departments: Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electronics and Physics.
Dr. Patricio Valdivia, academic from the Department of Electrical Engineering and responsible for the project, explains that “this simulator is a team for collaborative use by all the entities associated with the project, both universities that work on solar issues, as well as R&D institutions, which ensures a high level of use”.
Its first-rate technology facilitates testing under controlled conditions of photovoltaic technologies, allowing a series of studies on these panels, such as evaluating performance, temperature coefficients, estimating degradation levels and verifying compliance with technical specifications. , among others.
Joint work and expectations
The activity, carried out at the USM Electromobility Laboratory on the San Joaquín Campus, was attended by representatives from academia, government and industry, who celebrated the milestone of being able to have this equipment in our country, which is also part of of the new Solar Energy Laboratory of the House of Studies.
The General Director of Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship of the USM, Dr. Samir Kouro, pointed out that “the inauguration of this equipment awarded through the FONDEQUIP project, as well as this new laboratory, is highly relevant for the country, since It allows us to provide the national academy with a team that did not exist in Chile, together with capacities to carry out R&D and technical assistance to the private sector, particularly related to the testing of photovoltaic solar panels. Being able to characterize the panels constitutes a strategic industry at this time for Chile and not only now, in the world of energy generation in a sustainable manner, but also in the future for the production of green hydrogen from photovoltaic solar energy”.
For his part, Rodrigo Paredes, Enel’s innovation manager, commented: “This equipment will allow us to measure the degradation of the panels that we currently have in operation in the photovoltaic plants in northern Chile, which will undoubtedly strengthen our academy link -industry”.
In addition, the Enel manager highlighted that “we have a relationship with Santa María University for more than five years. In these years, we have found great professionals and capabilities for the industry that have allowed us to have this relationship and grow in this work of being able to acquire unique equipment in the world, such as this simulator”.
For Elías Urrejola, technological manager of ATAMOS-TEC, “having a team of these characteristics allows us to evaluate our technologies and compare them with real desert conditions. Through this equipment we will be able to determine future conditions of the solar panel in order to find materials that improve its conditions”.
“USM is one of the fundamental pillars of ATAMOS-TEC as co-executor. This equipment is a very important milestone because it closes a chapter of many attempts to build an indoor laboratory of these characteristics. We are very happy with the milestone, and looking to the present and future in the medium and long term, to be able to solve problems in the industry that exist today”, he stated.
This positive evaluation is also shared by Dr. Valdivia, who also adds that with this team “we will be able to increase and deepen high-level research, raising the type of publication, its quality and its impact, both at national as global. In addition, we will be able to increase our collaborations with Chilean institutions that do research in solar energy, as well as carry out specialized consultancies on these issues, opening a field of industrial relations with energy generating companies and promoting the development of this clean technology in our country”, he concluded. .