Date	21.07.2025
Department	Faculty of Engineering
SDG

An international research team coordinated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Veysel Ünsür, a faculty member of the Department of Basic Sciences at our University’s Faculty of Engineering, has earned full marks and been awarded funding from the European Research Fund of the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) with their innovative project titled “HiPER-Ni: Development of High-Efficiency and Silver-Free Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC) PV Modules Based on POLO2.”

Providing details about the project, Project Coordinator Assoc. Prof. Dr. Veysel Ünsür stated:
“Our international research team, including METU-GÜNAM as a partner, has achieved a significant milestone with the project 'HiPER-Ni: Development of High-Efficiency and Silver-Free Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC) PV Modules Based on POLO2.' The project received full marks and was selected for support by the prestigious European Research Fund under the Transnational Research and Innovation (TRI) initiatives of the Clean Energy Transition Partnership. With a total budget of 75 million Turkish Lira, Prof. Dr. Serdar Akbayrak from our university’s Faculty of Engineering, Department of Basic Sciences, will serve as the project lead on behalf of our institution.”

What is the HiPER-Ni Project?
The HiPER-Ni Project aims to overcome the critical challenges faced by today's leading photovoltaic (PV) technologies, such as PERC and TOPCon cells—particularly their dependence on scarce and expensive silver and their efficiency limitations. The main goal is to surpass 26% efficiency by integrating next-generation IBC solar cells with n-poly and p-poly passivating contacts (POLO2), and to completely replace silver contacts with abundant and cost-effective nickel. This approach is expected to both reduce costs and achieve efficiency levels above 26%.