The innovation in solar technology could deliver sustainable power from everyday objects
A ‘revolutionary’ flexible coating that harnesses solar energy could reduce the need for bulky silicon-based panels, say the scientists behind the innovation.
A 40-strong team of researchers at the department of physics at Oxford University have developed a solar cell so thin that it can be applied to buildings, cars and everyday objects.
It means you could, in theory, devise a backpack that charges gizmos while you walk, or a phone that juices up as you talk. Or even an EV that recharges for free as you cruise down the motorway.
Independent tests have shown that the multi-layer cell – made from a mineral called perovskite – is at least as efficient as traditional panels, converting 27% of the energy in sunlight into electricity.
The brains behind the breakthrough discovery believe they can push efficiency to 45%, but the real draw of perovskite cells lies in their astonishing versatility. At just over one micron thick, they are almost 150 times thinner than a silicon wafer, so can be applied to almost any surface.
Dr Junke Wang, from Oxford University Physics, said they could one day be applied to the roofs of cars and buildings, or the backs of mobile phones. “If more solar energy can be generated in this way, we can foresee less need in the longer term to use silicon panels or build more and more solar farms,” Dr Wang said.
In the meantime, UK firm Oxford PV is already making ‘perovskite-on-silicon’ tandem cells at its factory in Brandenburg-an-der-Havel, near Berlin, Germany.
Company founder Henry Snaith – a professor of renewable energy, who is also leading the PV work at Oxford University Physics – called for more government support for homegrown PV manufacturing.
At just over one micron thick, the cells are almost 150 times thinner than a silicon wafer, so can be applied to almost any surface
“Thus far the UK has thought about solar energy purely in terms of building new solar farms, but the real growth will come from commercialising innovations – we very much hope that the newly created British Energy will direct its attention to this,” he said.
The researchers believe their approach will continue to reduce solar’s cost and also make it the most sustainable form of renewable energy. Since 2010, the global average cost of solar electricity has fallen by almost 90%, making it almost a third cheaper than that generated from fossil fuels.
Main image: Oxford University Physics
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