Swansea University is set to strengthen its reputation as a global leader in sustainable solar manufacturing after securing a major £3 million research award.
Professor Matthew Davies has been named one of just 12 Green Future Fellows by the Royal Academy of Engineering, recognising his work as part of a national initiative backing academics and innovators developing technologies to help tackle climate change and build long term resilience.
Professor Davies, from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, will now receive funding over 10 years to accelerate his work on sustainable and circular perovskite solar technologies. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are a type of solar panel made from a crystal-structured material called perovskite that efficiently converts sunlight into electricity.
The Fellowship will generate the science, tools and manufacturing approaches needed to design perovskite photovoltaics that are lower impact, recyclable and suited to circular business models as part of the ASPECT – Advancing Sustainable Perovskite Energy as a Circular Technology – project. ASPECT aims to make PSCs a mainstream, sustainable alternative to conventional solar panels – which are designed for a single life, are resource intensive and difficult to recycle.
Professor Davies said: “I am delighted to receive this 10-year Green Future Fellowship. It was an extremely competitive process, and I am grateful for the opportunity to accelerate our work on sustainable and circular perovskite solar technologies.
“Although this is a personal fellowship, it reflects the outstanding progress made at Swansea by a much larger team. The strength of our research environment, from materials and photophysics to scalable manufacturing, has made this possible. I look forward to using this Fellowship to help position the UK at the forefront of sustainable solar manufacturing.”
This Fellowship builds directly on Swansea’s progress in perovskite photovoltaics, including major advances made by Professor Trystan Watson and the SPECIFIC team. It also draws on capabilities in photophysics, sustainable materials development and design for circular economy approaches to manufacturing, with strong links to SPECIFIC pilot-line facilities.
Professor Davies says although the work is UK centred and will create knowledge and skills to support solar manufacturing ambitions and net zero goals, it will also feed into the University’s international collaborations. These include the UNESCO Chair in Sustainable energy Technologies, TEA@SUNRISE and REACH PSM which provide pathways for shared learning and global impact, ensuring the UK’s leadership in sustainable perovskite technologies is connected to broader efforts on energy access, capacity building and responsible innovation.
The Fellowship will also be used to provide the scientific basis and practical tools required to make perovskite solar technologies more durable, safer and fully recyclable. The work will deliver design guidelines, circular manufacturing approaches and accessible methods that can be used by industry, government and research partners, helping to shape a long-term circular economy for solar energy in the UK.
Industry partners have expressed their congratulations and commitment to continuing their collaboration with Professor Davies and his colleagues.
Head of Product & Applications at Edinburgh Instruments Dr Stuart Thomson said: “We are delighted to support Professor Davies. This project continues Edinburgh Instruments’ commitment to advancing next-generation solar cell technologies through advanced photoluminescence spectroscopy.”
Power Roll Solar Chief Executive Officer Neil Spann added: “By integrating our patented microgroove substrates with greener solvent systems and sustainable materials, this partnership will accelerate circular manufacturing and deliver commercially viable solutions that reduce carbon footprint and strengthen the UK’s leadership in renewable energy innovation.”
Chief technology officer R&D NSG Group Dr Kevin Sanderson added: “We have worked closely with Swansea University and the SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre for more than a decade, and this Fellowship strongly aligns with our shared commitment to advancing sustainable, next-generation solar technologies. Embedding circular economy principles into perovskite photovoltaics is critical for their long-term commercial and environmental viability, and we are pleased to support this important work.”
