Beyond Silicon: The Future of solar Energy Ep33
Beyond Silicon: The Future of Solar Energy (Ep 33): Prof. Christos Markides & Dr Flurin Eisner
In 2025, the UK generated over 14 billion kilowatt-hours of solar electricity, enough to power more than 5 million homes. With solar technology evolving faster than ever, could the next leap in solar power come from labs pushing the boundaries of energy science? Today's episode is hosted by Christos Markides, a professor of clean energy technologies in the department of chemical engineering at Imperial. He specializes in advanced technologies for recovering and storing thermal energy—particularly from solar and low-grade waste heat. His guest today is Dr Flurin Eisner, a lecturer and researcher in Green Energy and Sustainable Engineering at Queen Mary University.
Topics Discussed
- Technology improvements in solar cells
- Generation capacity for manufacturing solar technologies
- Growth rate of PV industry
- Technical dive into converting solar power to energy
- Solar heat converted to cooling technologies
- UK’s Solar PV generation vs that of Europe.
Episode Overview
with timestamps
00:00 - Introduction to the Energy Futures Podcast
00:45 - Meet the Hosts: Christos Markides and Flurin Eisner
02:00 - Overview of Solar Energy Potential and Global Usage
04:30 - Growth of Photovoltaics (PV) and Silicon Dominance
07:00 - Monocrystalline vs Polycrystalline Silicon
08:30 - Emerging Solar Technologies: Perovskites and Organics
11:00 - Advantages and Challenges of Perovskite Solar Cells
13:30 - Tandem Solar Cells and Efficiency Gains
15:00 - Organic PV: Flexibility, Colour Tuning, and Indoor Use
17:30 - Energy Payback Time and Sustainability of New Technologies
19:30 - Hybrid PV-Thermal Systems and Heat Recovery
22:00 - Thermal Storage and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)
24:30 - Grid Integration and the Role of Storage
26:30 - Desert Tech and International Solar Projects
28:00 - Challenges in Grid Infrastructure and Distribution
30:00 - Capacity Factors and Renewable Energy Intermittency
32:00 - Solar for Cooling and Building Integration
34:00 - Light Management and Spectral Tuning in PV
36:00 - Material Design and AI in Solar Research
38:00 - Policy, Funding, and the UK’s Role in PV Innovation
40:00 - Solar Panel Adoption in UK Homes and Feed-in Tariffs
42:00 - Final Thoughts: The Solar Revolution is Here
43:00 - Outro and Energy Futures Lab Mission
Meet our Guests
Prof Christos Markides
Professor of clean energy technologies in the Chemical Engineering department at Imperial. He specializes in advanced technologies for recovering and storing thermal energy—particularly from solar and low-grade waste heat.
Connect with Prof Markides on LinkedIn
Dr Flurin Eisner
A lecturer and researcher in Green Energy and Sustainable Engineering at Queen Mary University. His research focuses on solution-processable semicondcutor devices () for sustainable solar energy conversion and storage.
Connect with Dr Flurin Eisner on LinkedIn
Additional Links
Joint Article Publication by Prof. Christos Markides and Dr Maria Herrando Hybrid PV and solar-thermal systems for domestic heat and power provision in the UK: Techno-economic considerations
Read it here: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/entitie...
Listen and Subscribe
Stay informed about the latest advancements in clean energy by subscribing to the Energy Futures Podcast on your preferred platform:
Stay Connected with Energy Futures Lab
Follow us for the latest updates on energy research, innovation, and policy:
Explore more episodes
Discover more episodes of the Energy Futures Podcast, where we bring together leading voices in energy to discuss the science, technology, and policies driving the clean energy revolution.