The Universitat Jaume I leads the research on the use of nanotechnology in the search for alternative energies in Latin America

(Nanowerk News) The Universitat Jaume I will lead the project "Materiales y dispositivos de nanoescala para conversión y almacenamiento de energía" ("Nanoscale materials and devices for energy conversion and storage"). This three year long project has the main objective of promoting cooperation among countries in Latin America through the development of basic and applied research in various areas of nanotechnology in order to achieve clean energies such as photovoltaics, batteries, LED and a system to get fuel with sunlight.
The project, which will be coordinated by Juan Bisquert, director of the Photovoltaic and Optoelectronic Devices Group at the UJI, and Eva M. Barea, a researcher at the same group, will set up Red Nanoenergía (Nanotechnologies Network) from the Latin American Science and Technology Development Programme (CYTED). This network will be initially formed by 13 groups from seven countries (Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and Uruguay).
To remedy the growing energy demand, the inevitable depletion of traditional resources and the potentially catastrophic environmental consequences of the intensive use of fossil fuels, there is now an urgent need to study and develop energy-efficient and low cost photovoltaic solar cells, storage systems and optoelectric devices which allow the generation, the rational use and the save of energy. Fulfilling the current needs of energy growth of the countries considered developed and enabling them to have the same options for achieving a sustainable development necessarily involves the enhancement of R + D + i with projects such as that one led by the University of Castelló.
Currently, in the Iberoamerican region there are high quality research groups dealing with the development and the study of new materials for the production of these new generation devices that will be able to compete on cost and efficiency with others that are currently in the market. There is also a high industrial potential to develop which is ideal for this kind of clean energies which require a light industry.
The Latin American Science and Technology Development Programme (CYTED) is an intergovernmental and multilateral cooperation program in science and technology, whose main objective is to contribute to the harmonious development of the Latin American region through the establishment of cooperation mechanisms amongst university research, R&D centres and innovative companies in the Latin American countries. The Nanotechnologies Network, which is part of the CYTED program, will coordinate and promote basic research and industrial activities in nanotechnology to achieve clean energy, in order to boost its development in the Latin American region. The aim is to get excellent scientific and technological results in energy and nanotechnology transferable to the production systems and the social policies of these countries.
The first joint activity will take place on 3 and 6 April, 2011 in Natal (Brazil) with the celebration of the international conference Nanoenergy11 (Nanoscale Materials and Devices for Energy Conversion, Storage and Biosensors). Some of the most prominent world experts in these areas will attend this meeting.
Source: Universitat Jaume I