Chairperson's Message

On behalf of the Organizing Committee, it is my pleasure to invite you to participate in the 13th Conference on Thermophotovoltaic Generation of Electricity (TPV-13) scheduled on April 25-27, 2022. The first TPV-x conference has been held in 1994. In 2021, after an interruption of 7 years, TPV-12 was held online, and led to the revival of the TPV-x conference series.

TPV has been studied for a long time and developed through steady research. Recently, research and development on thermal emitters, TPV cells, and system integration technologies have led to significant advances. There are growing expectations for applications such as solar to thermal energy and industrial waste heat conversions into electrical energy, as well as applications in small size portable electrical power supplies.

In addition, from an academic standpoint, many advanced concepts such as near-field thermal radiation conversion, thermionic conversion, and combined systems have attracted keen attention.

TPV research is complex, as it involves a wide range of academic fields. In other words, it is a field that has the potential to make great progress through exchanges between researchers with different academic expertise. Therefore, I hope that this conference will be an opportunity for further progress in TPV.

In addition, TPV-13 will be a joint conference with CPV-18, which shares the common feature of high-intensity photovoltaic conversion. It will be a great opportunity for the two communities to communicate with each other and thus generate new ideas with impacts on each technology.

TPV-12 was held online due to COVID-19. This year meeting will be held in Miyazaki (if the situation permits) and online (hybrid mode). Miyazaki is a very beautiful city blessed with rich climate and nature.

We are looking forward to meeting you all in Miyazaki or online!

Stay healthy,

Makoto Shimizu, Tohoku University, Japan, Program Chair