HyPVCar-CM aims to establish the foundation for future technologies that will enable the integration of photovoltaic (PV) cells into steel and aluminum structures for automotive applications. Integration involves developing hybrid structures consisting of multiple layers to meet requirements related to aesthetics, durability, cell encapsulation, electrical insulation between cell strings and metallic parts, manufacturability, and costeffectiveness. While existing materials and solutions from both the PV and automotive industries can contribute to these requirements, specific challenges must be addressed to achieve successful integration.
The project’s first objective is to define hybrid structures for integrating PV cells into metallic car body components. This integration requires multilayer structures that provide all necessary characteristics: an external transparent protective layer, encapsulants, PV cells and electrical connections, an electrical insulation layer, and a metallic substrate. The combination of different materials will influence the overall properties of the structure.

Flat sample prototypes with varying multilayer architectures will be designed and fabricated, incorporating different material combinations in the stack and applying various surface finishes to the metal sheets. These samples will undergo a full sequence of tests to assess their mechanical properties, including tensile performance, microscale deformation, material strength, interface behavior after solar cell integration, fatigue resistance, fracture and corrosion resistance, and impact absorption capabilities.

The mechanical properties determined through experimentation will support the development of a physical model for integrating PV cells into curved metal sheets. This model will help identify optimal materials, mechanical constraints, and manufacturing process parameters required for the integration of silicon solar cells into metal sheets. Representative prototypes will be produced following two approaches:

(1) shaping the metal sheets into a curved form before applying a lamination process to integrate the cells, and

(2) integrating the cells first into flat metal sheets and subsequently forming the hybrid structure through stamping.