Free-form solar cells are cells of unconventional shapes (e.g. hexagonal, leaf-shaped etc). Their flexible shape adds to the aesthetics of the surroundings as well as allows to place them over objects where conventional solar cells might not fit. Evidently, these cells need to be efficient as well, and one of the important factors that controls their performance is the front metallization design. In this paper, we present the application of topology optimization (TO) to optimize the front metallization patterns for free-form solar cells. TO distributes the electrode material on the solar cell front surface in an efficient manner, such that the total power output is maximized. To demonstrate the capability of the proposed methodology, we use it to optimize front metal grids for several complex solar cell shapes e.g. circular, hexagonal, leaf-shaped, motorbike fairings, etc. The results presented here demonstrate the capability of TO to generate efficient designs for these free-form shapes.

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Free-form solar cells expand solar power beyond traditional rectangular geometries. With the flexibility of being installed on objects of daily use, they allow making better use of available space and are expected to bring in new possibilities of generating solar power in the coming future. In addition, their customizable shape can add to the aesthetics of the surroundings. Evidently, free-form solar cells need to be efficient as well. One way to improve their performance is to optimize the metallization patterns for these cells. This work introduces an optimization strategy to optimize the metallization designs of a solar cell such that its performance can be maximized. For the purpose of optimization, we model an existing transparent free-form solar cell design, including front and rear electrode patterns, to validate it against previously published experimental results. The front and rear metallizations of this transparent free-form solar cell are subsequently redesigned using topology optimization. More than 50% improvement in output power is achieved by using topology optimization.@en