I am so happy to have found both podcasts and my heart leaps with Joy every time I see a video in particular about Perovskites. I did my ChemE capstone project on the industrial scale production of Perovskites and have kept a close eye on any developments that can bridge the (band) gap of the material's stability. I made a slight deviation away from the R&D done in labs towards operating a solar EPC company for solar panels. Primarily because I wanted to personally know what defines an appealing panel from the perspective of the customers who would be buying them and the technicians who would be installing them. Indeed, the audience and topics of these podcasts are a great intersection of the various key players with a stake in the sustainable development of renewable energy solutions.
3:03 the USS Texas which predates the USS Missouri by over 30 years, had the same analog computers, and earlier computer models as well. Texas was also the first USN battleship to carry Radar and its analog systems.
to your point about how the public seems to not be patient for newer technologies to come out, something that has stuck with me that my one professor said years ago, society is not as smart as we think we are. Change/advancements take time, it's just how life works. (aside from the accidental breakthroughs, but we aren't all exceptions to the rule!)
In the Godzilla 2014 movie, when the (eventual but nobody could tell for sure) lead character was this super-important guy, the only one left who could operate an "analog nuke," ...and the thing had a cluster of spur gears under the access panel as if it were some steampunk grandfather clock, well that was it for me. I couldn't comprehend such technological ignorance. I sound like a Sheldon saying this but, beyond the implausibility of a giant lizard stomping around, this one aspect really bugged the crap out of me.
21:50 New technologies have to keep up with advances in evolving technologies. Lithium-ion solid-state, for example. Underlying lithium-ion ion chemistries are still evolving, and they tend to be about as good as older solid-state technologies. Solid state will probably only be practical after we optimize the chemistry in liquid/gel batteries. The solar panels don't have that self-blocking issue - conventional PVs are not improving each year.
Thank you for the great videos! It is nice to hear about perovskites outside of academia! I remember a conference from 2018 in which Oxford PV said they would be mass producing in the following year (so 5 years ago)... Tbf I prefer that they take their time to really tackle the issues over launching too early and risking an image problem because of some unreliable modules. But I have to disagree with you, Matt, that the tandem cell is a baby step. It is actually much harder to produce a working tandem cell then a single-junction (only perovskite); a big reason being the texturing of the Si cell. Also regarding the efficiency, this would be a huge jump. Therefore, tandem cells will become the new standard for roof tops and solar farms. Perovskite single-junction solar cells might show up in new applications though, like building- and mobility-integrated PV and IoT. Let's hope for the best!
I’m excited by the new possibilities. I’ll be replacing my roof soon, which is a sensible time to change out my existing 2005-era solar system (since they’ll need to remove and reinstall the panels anyway). If I do new silicon panels now, how likely is it that I’ll be kicking myself this time next year?
16:42 Perovskite coming SOON(TM)! Humans will go to Mars in 2010! Solid State Batteries will power your next smart phone! Fusion power will solve the worlds power needs! Everyone can see the world at twice the speed of sound! (yes, Concorde did fly, but was just 14 aircraft, many other designs failed) The scourge of Cancer will be abolished! shall I go on? Many grand announcements fell far short of dreams with limited success.
