Our Faculty Members Awarded in Clean Technology Themed Project Competitions
28.11.2018

Two faculty members from Atılım University’s Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Rahim Jafari (Automotive Engineering) and Dr. Samad Nadimi (Mechanical Engineering), won the EPDK–ELDER Award worth 25,000 TL on October 6, 2018, for their project titled MicroTherm/MicroSolar, a mini-channel-based hybrid photovoltaic–thermal solar panel. The award was presented by the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) and the Association of Electricity Distribution Services (ELDER) as part of the 2018 New Ideas New Businesses competition organized by METU Technopolis. This award recognizes projects with significant commercial potential.

The same faculty members were also selected among the top 10 finalists on November 12, 2018, in the Clean Technology Business Ideas – Cleantech Open competition organized by the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme (GCIP) Turkey, with the same project.

The developed MicroTherm system is a mini-channel-based hybrid photovoltaic–thermal solar panel. A specially designed micro-channel heat sink is mounted on the backside of the PV solar cells. By ensuring uniform cooling of the PV cells, losses in electrical efficiency are compensated. Additionally, the recovered thermal energy is transferred from the solar cells to a water container for heating purposes. A single MicroTherm solar panel can generate approximately 2700 kWh of energy per year, which is equivalent to burning about 1.2 tons of coal in a thermal power plant, thereby preventing around 3.4 tons of CO₂ emissions annually.

Dr. Jafari and Dr. Nadimi are continuing their efforts toward mass production of the system.