Draft2:Durable Module Materials Consortium
The Durable Module Materials Consortium (DuraMAT) brings together Department of Energy national laboratory and university research capabilities with the photovoltaic (PV) and supply-chain industries to accelerate a sustainable, just, and equitable transition to zero-carbon electricity generation by 2035.
DOE's role
National laboratories and the U.S. Department of Energy are partnering to form the backbone of the DuraMAT consortium.
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Mission
The Durable Module Materials (DuraMAT) Consortium focuses on precompetitive research needs in photovoltaic (PV) module packaging to accelerate a sustainable, just, and equitable transition to zero carbon electricity generation by 2035.
The consortium leverages decades of experience, expertise, and world-class facilities to create a "one-stop-shop" for timely solutions to critical barriers limiting PV module reliability and durability. It offers university and industry researchers the opportunity to work with national lab partners: the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Objectives
DuraMAT provides a suite of easily accessible capabilities to facilitate applied research and development. Equally important, we understand the technical issues that you need to address and can help you develop a team using these capabilities to come up with solutions. We integrate the following core objectives into our research strategy.
See projects for more details.
- Central Data Resource - Collect and disseminate module reliability data, and apply data science to derive new insights.
- Fielded Module Forensics - Quantify and characterize module failure modes during outdoor exposure, and study changes in materials and performance properties during testing and deployment.
- Multi-Scale, Multi-Physics Model - Develop modeling tools to rapidly scale accelerated testing results and quantitatively assess the impacts and degradation modes of new materials and designs.
- Module Materials Solutions - Design, develop, de-risk innovative materials and module architectures to address PV reliability issues using DuraMAT capabilities.
- Disruptive Acceleration Science - Focus on understanding how PV materials, modules, and systems will perform outdoors based on relatively aggressive experimental conditions.
Stakeholders
DuraMAT has become a trusted partner for the U.S. industry and PV research community. Theirr work is guided by a 15-member Industry Advisory Board which helped to develop DuraMAT's five core objectives and reviews all project calls.
Industry Advisory Board
DuraMAT has assembled a group of external advisors to provide ongoing feedback, guidance, and direction that serves to make the consortium a success. Members of this board represent a range of industry interests—from manufacturing to financing, from technical analysis to energy services.
- Black & Veatch
- Constellation
- DNV GL
- Dow Chemical
- DuPont
- Endurans
- EPRI
- GAF
- Heliolytics
- Nextracker
- NRG
- Osazada
- Pilkington
- PVEL
- Silicon Ranch
- Southern Company
- SunPower
- Tesla
- UL
- Wells Fargo
Contact
- For answers to high-level or generic questions, contact duramat@nrel.gov.
- For specific questions or to discuss work in various areas, contact the core objective leaders or leadership team members by email.
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