The PhD4Energy project was funded from 2014 to 2018 under the Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions Grant no 608153. Research Executive Agency Project advisor Athina Zampara supported us throughout those five years.
Of the twelve students, currently, half are employed by private companies and half went on to academic careers: Xulu Zeng, Maryam Khalilian, Artis Svilans, Vilgaile Dagyte, I-Ju Chen, Andrea Troian, Hailiang Xu, Damiano Verardo, Laura Abariute, Stefán Bragi Gunnarsson, Sara Kheradsoud, Yang Chen. We wish them continued good success in their careers!
Meanwhile, the research resulted in more than 50 publications that made significant contributions to research in fields like semiconductor physics and nanosafety. Nanowires composed of III-V materials achieved highly efficient photovoltaic energy conversion. These enable the integration into highly flexible devices. Thermoelectric energy conversion in nanowires reached the limit of what is thermodynamically possible. Within nitride materials, methods to produce cost-effective, phosphor-free LEDs for blue and UV lighting were developed. Characterization and modeling supported the materials science all the way. Also, the safety and sustainability of our novel nanomaterials and device fabrication were evaluated.